Human Sensibility, Robotic Craft: Toward Autonomous Stonework

Recent advancements in architectural robotics allow to explore the coupling of manual craft with digital tools. However, current methods remain limited in capturing the qualities and nuances in manual techniques. This paper presents a protocol for transferring stone crafts to robotic fabrication, towards an autonomous process. Relying on advanced sensing and fabrication tools, the protocol re-instills the qualities of traditional stone craft in contemporary architectural making. This is demonstrated through a study of regional stonework. Drawing upon both historical practices and current standards, the protocol demonstrates three capacities: documenting – recording and analyzing of stonework techniques; augmenting – enabling to reenact the craft using a robotic arm; and enhancing – a proposed framework for autonomous robotic craft in uncertain conditions. In face of the demise of manual crafts, these new avenues for robotic fabrication assist in preserving and advancing regional stonework.

[Forthcoming] Shaked, T., Bar-Sinai, K. L., & Sprecher, A. (2020). Human Sensibility, Robotic Craft: Toward Autonomous Stonework. In Design Culture(s)-Cumulus Conference 2021. Rome, Italy.