Flying machine-enabled construction
Flight Assembled Architecture is a process in which flying machines construct prototype building structures. Developed by ETH Zürich professor Raffaello D’Andrea and architecture firm Gramazio Kohler Architects, Flight Assembled Architecture employs software-controlled flying robots to place individual foam bricks in order to construct a large open-weave structure.
Imagined as a scale representation of a 1,969′-tall (600-m) towering city for 30,000 inhabitants, the installation consists of 1,500 prefabricated polystyrene foam modules and stands 19.7′ (6 m) high and 11.5′ (3.5 m) in diameter at 1:100 scale. The quadrotor helicopters required several days of continuous flight to build the megastructure simulation. The potential to use flying machines for building construction has many compelling benefits, such as ensuring human safety and precision of craft.
Contact: ETH Zurich Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, Zurich, Switzerland.
For more information, see Transmaterial Next: A Catalog of Materials that Redefine Our Future
