Why plot drawings when you can plot the whole building?

[Phil Read]

Twas just a matter time...

http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~khoshnev/RP/RP-Top-Page.htm

-Phil

[ariasdelcid]

Plot?????? Build it right away!!!

[hand471037]

posted about this before, but I'll post it again:

http://www.massiearchitecture.com/

This guy uses Rhino to model out the building, then uses a CNC mill to generate forms for precast elements which lock together like puzzle-peices into a building. Very exciting and thought-provoking!

[Phil Read]

Just to clarify - this is not about rapid prototyping in the traditional sense. This proposal is suggesting rapid prototyping the actual...on site...24 hours later...building:

"Another high potential application is construction of civil structures such as houses. Emergency and low income housing construction fields are being considered by various entities."

-Phil

[frame]

This looks very interesting, although they do not appear to be using Revit.

http://www.cleverhousing.com/

They claim to be the "The world's first digital home construction company".

They plan on using robots to churn out panelized, high efficiency panels, even offer som version of solar wall panels.

[hand471037]

Actually the Massie stuff is more impressive than at first glance; the guy is skipping CD's and Contractors altogether and fabbing the parts/molds for his houses directly from his CAD model, then putting them together on site. It's not robots making a whole building, true, but it's a really brilliant idea that I think will have a huge impact overall within our industry- for Massie was able to build a 4-story, concrete & glass & steel house for something like $150,000 using his methoids. The robot thing is cool, but still a long ways off, Massie's doing this stuff right now, and with smaller CNC mills falling to two or three grand, I see a much larger future in what Massie's doing...

[ariasdelcid]

But that is the shape of things to come. Do we realize that Nanotech is the most founded research area right now?

[Phil Read]

Here's an update. NY Times article (registration required):

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/11/garden/11ROBO.html

Regards -

Phil