Our globalised societies have entered into a new phase. The pandemic has revealed how our communities are intricately linked beyond national borders, in a world that has become more fragile. At the same time, the widespread popularization of online communication demonstrates how technology allows for reconnection in times of forced isolation; we can talk to anyone, anywhere, almost anytime. In this emerging order, we ask how architecture can reimagine its own tradition and role in society.

Collaborative Constructions investigates a new practice of architecture based on the creative, innovative and personal use of technology. The two projects by ETH Zurich and the University of Tokyo engage in a global collaboration looking at architectural strategies to relate nature and humanity through technology; they are results of human-robots collaborations and exemplify how we can engage with the past while looking ahead.

Listen to the two project leaders Hannes Mayer from ETH Zürich, Professor Yusuke Obuchi from The University of Tokyo and enjoy the two installations through beautiful images by our collaborators Shimizu and Montage.

Learn about the three-storey timber frame structure by Gramazio Kohler Research, assembled from five robotically prefabricated timber modules made in the world-renowned Robotic Fabrication Laboratory at ETH Zürich with traditional wood joints updated for the age of robotics. Without screws and metal parts, it is designed to withstand earthquakes and storms, while serving as a meeting point for the community. Or walk through T_ADS Obuchi Lab’s traditional noren with its gate-like structure and hanging pottery chains, whose pattern was created by an intricate algorithm. T_ADS Obuchi Lab’s project welcomes the visitors and acts as a natural climate control through the evaporative effect of the chains.

The two buildings shed light on digital processes in architecture, human-robot interactions and cross-pollination between technology and culture. Discover it all and more through our video !

More info: https://aichi.vitality.swiss

An initiative of the Embassy of Switzerland in Japan, ETH Zürich & the University of Tokyo in collaboration with Shimizu Corporation, the project was developed by Gramazio Kohler Research and led by Hannes Mayer, with Professor Yusuke Obuchi at T_ADS Obuchi Lab. It is part of Vitality.Swiss, Switzerland’s program on the road to Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai.

Partners: IWC Schaffhausen, BMW Group, Panasonic, LIXIL, ERNE AG Holzbau, Cypress Sunadaya Co., Ltd., Vitra, Jun Sato Laboratory Department of Socio-Cultural Environmental Studies, the University of Tokyo, KALT AG, SJB Kempter Fitze AG, KNAPP Verbinder -KNAPP Connectors, Raimund Beck KG, Wire-Staples-Company, MONTAGE Inc., Tokoname City, The University of Tokyo Strategic Partnerships Project, State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI, Presence Switzerland, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)