The High-technology Concrete Laboratory

Architects, Robots and Concrete create Unique Buildings of the future
On June 20, 2007 Danish Technological Institute officially inaugurated a new high-technology concrete laboratory in Taastrup – a unique laboratory of international format. The laboratory will be the centre of development of technology that enables manufacturing of unique concrete constructions by the means of robots. At the inauguration, the possibilities of the robots for processing a form that can fine expression through shape and surface.

Breathtaking and Individual Architecture
A very great part of our culture is rooted in architecture. Everyone will probably agree that amazing buildings as e.g. the Opera in Sydney enriches people who frequent the area and at the same time functions as a magnet for tourists. We may probably agree on the fact that the multi-storey buildings of the sixties do not embellish the surroundings in which we are nor give us any visual experience. And this is exactly what we all will require of the dream society of the future – that is that our buildings shall give us many more experiences and express individuality.

The extension to Ordrupgaard, designed by the international established architect Zaha Hadid, is a classic example of the architect’s wish that the idiom of the building gives the viewer an experience. Another example is the concrete fronts of the DR Byen. The architect has worked on creating a structure in the surface that resembles the skin of an elephant to express that the building and the people in it are constantly moving.

However, the frequency of constructing amazing buildings is still large. One of the main causes is that such buildings are considerably expensive to build. There is no doubt that the architects have visions and can create such buildings. The necessary tools to design and project such buildings do also exist, however, the manufacturing processes to build these amazing buildings at competitive prices are not yet available.

The Development Work is supported by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation (Højteknologifonden)
Concrete is a material that enables the architect to express himself through shapes and surfaces. Robots enable that the visions of the architect can be realized at competitive prices. This is the content of a new project supported by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation that gathers the Danish leading expertise within the area. In real life, the digital 3D drawings of an architect are transferred to a robot that automatically creates a form in which the concrete is poured. As concrete is a workable material that can be filled into a form – with very complex geometry as well – possibilities to create unique and spectacular buildings in the future – at competitive prices – are then unlimited.

For further information about the project, cf. www.unikabeton.dk