A striking example of the creative use of collaborative robots was presented at the Jerusalem Design Week in Israel. The designers who created the green project called “Growing Architecture” pave the way for producing green buildings through the 3D printer integrated into the Universal Robots cobot. The collaborative robot integrated into the printer moves according to the prepared design and allows the rapid creation of a three-dimensional form.
One of the remarkable aspects of the project is that the raw material used by the printer is completely natural, consisting of a mixture of soil, seeds and nutrients and stabilizers. After the collaborative robot and 3D printer complete the printing process, the structure takes on a life of its own, seeds germinate and turn the walls into a green facade. The roots that get stuck and dry inside the walls form a durable and strong building material. It makes it possible to produce architectural structures made of earth and rooted as a whole, instead of a building made of concrete and steel.
MIT graduate, architect and researcher Nof Nathansohn, who co-developed the “Growing Architecture” project with Or Naim, Elisheva Gillis, Gitit Linker, Danny Friedman, Noa Zarmati, Adi Segal, and Rivka, said, “We are at the height of an ecological crisis, but the use of industrial materials rather than local materials is increasing day by day,” he said. Nathansohn adds, “By developing innovative materials for growing 3D printing, planting is an integral part of the fabrication process. We use the local Jerusalem soil as the base material, so we also save on transporting standard construction materials that pollute the environment. Every build we print will look different because of the use of different seeds.”
