AUAR's robotically assembled dwelling is at once beautiful and affordable

beautiful, sustainable, and affordable

bristol and london-based design and technology company automated architecture ltd (AUAR) showcases a robotically assembled dwelling at this year’s global investment summit (GIS). the company marks one of 12 businesses — and the only design firm — selected by the UK government to showcase their work at the summit, held on october 19, 2021. the summit showcases 12 of the UK’s best ‘green innovators’ to encourage international investment in green technology ahead of COP26 (UN climate change conference UK), which begins in glasgow the following week.

AUAR presents a modular timber building system, which uses robotics and automation to provide high-quality, beautifully designed, and sustainable affordable housing. with the support of ABB robotics, the presentation showcases the robotic assembly of one of AUAR’s dwelling units in real time.

image © NAARO | @studio_naaro

auar addresses the demand for housing

automated architecture ltd (AUAR) co-founder and CEO mollie claypool comments: ‘the demand for new homes is astronomical — two billion are needed in the next 80 years — yet the way we build them has not changed in hundreds of years. traditional attempts to modernise housing construction results in extreme centralisation and huge capital expenditure, further widening the divide between housing developers and local communities,’

our approach offers a community-driven, climate-conscious alternative — a way to revolutionize the way we design and build homes and empower people and communities to live better and more sustainable lives.‘

image © AUAR

the assembly process

pronounced ‘our,’ AUAR introduces its modular timber building system to uses robotics and automation to revolutionize the construction of houses. at its core, the system consists of building blocks made from timber, a renewable material, which are robotically pre-fabricated and assembled into dwelling units. the production chain begins when a robot assembles timber sheets into individual building blocks, then stacks the blocks into easily transportable units. these units are delivered locally to a given site and assembled by local craftspeople and builders into homes.

using AUAR’s automation, the units can be easily customized based on site characteristics and a given occupant’s lifestyle and visual preferences. this provides a radical alternative to existing modular housing approaches which are repetitive and difficult to adapt to local contexts. uniquely, the timber building blocks can be disassembled and reassembled for other uses, therefore creating less material waste and aligning with principles of circular design.

image © AUAR

engaging the community

the robotically assembled dwellings by AUAR decentralize and localize the design and construction process, allowing AUAR to build closer to the local communities they work with instead of importing materials or modular homes from far afield. this simultaneously reduces carbon footprint and increases community involvement. with job creation in mind, the robot used to assemble AUAR’s timber blocks can be easily embedded into small communities within existing workshops and maker spaces.

following block assembly by robots, existing local craftspeople, builders, and contractors are integrated into AUAR’s production chain, providing cladding, custom finishes, windows, and site preparation. importantly, this process provides an alternative to large factories and globalized production chains that limit local capacity for job creation, have hazardous carbon footprints, offer minimal consultation with local communities on how to meet needs for homes, and create dreary and monotonous housing.