Digital Urban Orchard: Robotic Manufacturing of Complex Shape

The Digital Urban Orchard, developed during the Applied Research program Open Thesis Fabrication 2015 at IaaC, is a digitally fabricated pavilion located in Barcelona. The 1:1 prototype was realized using 1,681 Redwood sticks of Flanders, maximizing time and cost efficiency thanks to the application of the mass production paradigm. Structural, material and environmental performance have been directly embedded within the computational design process and expressed through the robotic fabrication. The first phase of the project, the wooden structure, combines this process together with the in-situ manual assembly. Within the final cocoon-shape each stick performs a function between main truss, structural stiffener, aquaponics system support, skin support, furniture and platform beam. In the light of the working prototype, Fusta Robòtica Pavilion 2015, the robotic manufacturing loop process (picking, cutting and placing) also reduced the scrap length and waste production. According to the final position of each stick, these are selected from one of the three starting stick lengths, provided through a custom made feeder. The end edges are shaped according to diverse 3-dimensional angled cuts, thus each stick, varying each time the fabrication loop, informs the robotic fabrication code. The pavilion embodies a habitable and productive urban rooftop, combining soilless aquaponics, parametric design and robotic fabrication processes.