Swiss university ETH Zurich has revealed its proposed construction of a three-storey house using robotic arms and 3D printers. Working with the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) on the project, the university is also joined by Swiss materials science group – Empa.
The group believes the project is “the first house in the world to be designed, planned and built using predominantly digital processes.”
The project will utilize ETH Zurich’s growing expertise on in-situ fabrication with robotic arms that can 3D print metal framework. The device is known as the Mesh Mould and can digitally create complex shapes for concrete pouring. Matthias Kohler, ETH professor founding director of the NCCR Digital Fabrication and the initiator of the DFAB HOUSE, explains how diverse the range of technologies on the project are,
Unlike construction projects that use only a single digital building technology, such as 3D printed houses, the DFAB HOUSE brings a range of new digital building technologies together. This allows us to use the advantages of each individual method as well as their synergies, and express them architecturally,
Adding to the Mesh Mould process, the project is using sand 3D printers to create a Smart Slab structure for the ceiling and Smart Dynamic Casting. Eliminating the need for extensive formwork, ETH Zurich’s Smart Dynamic Casting is a process that robotically shapes concrete as it sets using robotic arms.
The DFAB HOUSE will be completed next year, in 2018, with construction having already begun at the NEST building. The three-story building will have a floor space of 200 meters sq and will be used as both for residential purposes and as a working space.
ETH Zurich continues to be a pioneer in digital fabrication and the university has curated a number of innovative research projects with 3D printing. The Engineering Design and Computing Laboratory has 4D printed tetrahedrons which are able to self-assemble from flat.
Featured image shows rendering of the proposed DFAB HOUSE. Image via NCCR Digital Fabrication.