Behavioural Production: Autonomous Swarm‐Constructed Architecture

Until now, parametric processes have largely been confined to the architectural and engineering phases of a building's design. What possibilities, however, do robotics and artificial intelligence programming open up for extending Parametricism's influence into the construction phase? Robert Stuart-Smith, a course master at the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory (AADRL), explores how architecture might adopt autonomous swarm-construction techniques. He describes the research that he has carried out with colleagues and students employing flying multicopters or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to design and additively manufacture 3D-printed buildings onsite.