Architecture Machines

Terra Spider
Educational Project - Advanced Studio
B.Arch - CCA - Fall 2014
Instructors:  Jason Kelly Johnson (Future City Lab)
Michael Shiloh (Arduino)

Associates: Anh Vu - Mallory Van Ness - Manali Chitre

Project Description:
Architecture automated machine systems

“Why is it that architects are taught to be mere users of technology rather than innovators? Why are the core creative tools of our profession designed by systems engineers? What creative potential exists at the heart of these machines, where bits intermix with atoms, where digital code meets material logic?”


It is becoming more and more apparent that the overdevelopment of both urban and farm lands has led to land degradation and contamination. There are many landscapes, cities, and buildings that have been contaminated to the point that humans and other species can no longer occupy. To address this issue, we have developed a robotic system that can detect, design, repair, and maintain a site through long periods of time. By taking inspiration from current farming and emediation practices as well as land art projects, we are rethinking the way landscapes are addressed. By programming each robot to understand the given site conditions, it begins to take on a life of its own, creating patterns in and shifting the soil to best suit the specific site’s needs. As a performance piece, each omnibot is able to reveal a pattern currently hidden beneath the superficial surface. We believe that there is a design opportunity hidden in every site and that robotics are necessary in taking on the arduous reconstruction of these damaged lands.


LINKS:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4j64y35LzM


http://www.instructables.com/id/Terra-Spider-Autonomous-Remediation-Robot/