AUGMENTING CRAFTSMANSHIP

Augmented Reality for Fabrication and BIM

“With the decline of craft in the face of automation in construction and robotic fabrication, can augmented reality with BIM technology provide an alternative to this trend?”. 

Join Igor Pantic, an architect and computational designer as he provides his insights and thoughts into the realm of augmented reality for fabrication.  For those interested in how mixed reality technologies can be used to combine the subtleties of manual craft and precision of digital models.

The podcast is produced and hosted by Michal Gryko and  Pablo Jaramillo.  The guest is Igor Pantic, an architect and computational designer based in London, where he leads his design/research practice. Igor is a Teaching Fellow at The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL in London Research Cluster 9 – exploring AR for fabrication and construction. His previous work experience includes a period of 7 years spent at Zaha Hadid Architects and he co-designed and built the “Steampunk Pavilion” for Tallinn Architecture Biennale using Augmented Reality technology.

This podcast delves deep into the topic of how augmented reality technology can be used to boost more traditional fabrication methods within the modern context to automation and robotic fabrication.  The questions below are covered in the duration of the podcast as Igor explains his thoughts and processes behind his own project and these technologies.

General Intro questions:

  • What do you define as Augmented Reality?
  • When did you get interested in its use for architecture?
  • What was the first project that you used it for?
  • Could you briefly tell us about how you used AR on the steampunk projects? And Do you think that project would have been possible without that technology?

Core Questions:

  • In your opinion, which are the main advantages of combining BIM with AR and fabrication and how it affects the workflow?
  • Which devices and software do you think are the most suitable to connect BIM with AR?
  • What do you think are the largest obstacles to overcome currently in order to fully integrate AR technology for BIM and fabrication?

Questions about the future:

  • Do you think AR is promoting craftsmanship in fabrication and construction and being able to provide a viable alternative to the use of expensive machinery? Is it paving the way for a new augmented craftsmanship era?
  • Do you think this approach will change the role of an architect/designer and have a more hands-on approach? 

 

Through the conversation in the podcast you can learn about an in depth workflow and explanation of construction for the steampunk pavilion and  by surprised by the use of simple hand tools and materials actually used for the pavilion.  Discover how the digital data overlay with AR and the physical world (BIM integration) is becoming stronger and hear Igor’s strong believe in this technology and workflow democratising architecture and enabling average communities. 

In addition towards the end of the podcast you can hear about Igor’s thoughts for the future including how:

  • Igor is trying to work past academia and pavilions to utilise AR for fabricating real world, livable architecture
  • How he is also getting into Mixed Reality urban solutions within his cluster, and exploring how architecture can be integrated with urban planning. 
  • How he believes that the  AEC industry is very slow in taking technology and needs more push through practical projects and academia
  • Once devices become cheaper, more accurate and more readily available it will be followed by greater adoption

“Now you are essentially not dependant on any more expensive machineries or prefabricated pieces exclusively in factories, but you are enabled lets say to just bring a suitcase with this hardware and go to very remote locations but still have essentially the same access to technology as if you were in a high tech environment”

-Igor Pantic

CREDITS

Augmenting Craftsmanship is a project of IAAC, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia developed at Master in Advanced Computation for Architecture & Design in 2021/22 by:

Students: Michal Gryko and Pablo Jaramillo

Lead faculty: Maite Bravo