Human Sensibility, Robotic Craft

Recent advancements in architectural robotics allow designers to explore the coupling of traditional craft with digital tools. However, current methods remain limited in capturing the qualities and nuances in manual techniques. The paper presents a protocol for transferring traditional stonework to robotic fabrication, aimed at supporting future autonomous manufacturing. The protocol re-instills the qualities of manual stonework in contemporary architecture by employing advanced sensing and fabrication tools. The paper presents three capacities, drawing upon historical practices and current standards: documenting – recording and analyzing stonework techniques; augmenting – enabling to reenact the craft using a robotic arm, and enhancing – a proposed framework for autonomous robotic fabrication in uncertain conditions. In the face of the demise of manual work, these new avenues for robotic fabrication assist in preserving and advancing regional stonework.