Engineering firm utilizes CNC machining and robotics technology.

A Dutch engineering firm claims to have created the first robotically crafted building in the Netherlands. The firm, Studio RAP, used a combination of robotics and CNC machining technology to create the 130-square-metre structure inside of another structure, from the ground up without the use construction workers to build the individual parts. The precision of CNC machining techniques like those in use at IP Automation combined with complex and ground-breaking robotics has enabled Studio RAP to design and create complex architectural structures.

In an interview with dezeen, the engineering firm’s founder Wessel van Beerendonk noted,

 “We see a lot of potential in embracing digital fabrication…We strive for a direct link between the unlimited possibilities of the digital world and the material world through robotic fabrication..Our aim is to take this out of the academic world, where a lot of developments have been initiated, and apply it to building practice.”

The structure was digitally designed and incredibly efficient, constructed of individually machined wood panels connected to form a central column. While this technique has been proposed and even used to a certain extent in other countries it is a great example of the increased use of robotics and CNC technology in the construction industry.