The emergence of new technologies in the manufacturing field has revealed some important potentials for the 21st century. The use of brick - a thousand-year-old component in architecture - also has great potential. It is a material that can be used around the world, from natural and ecological resources. The 3D printing of clay with the aid of a robot makes it possible to manufacture with great precision particular brick protoypes, massively, adaptable, with unique characteristics. Previous research has led us to focus on the relationship between the brick and the rainwater. The design of the bricks is based on important climatic analyzes. Their length, orientation and shape change according to the wind and rainwater of the environment, in order to collect a maximum amount of rainwater. Each brick becomes unique, and the performance of the robotic arm becomes indispensable in their production.
Work by Grégoire Gagneux and Dominic Co at the University of Hong Kong. Tutor Christian J. Lange and Lidia Ratoi.
