Wander wood

University of British Columbia, Vancouver | Completed 2017

The Wander Wood Pavilion is a robotically fabricated temporary installation at the University of British Columbia Campus. The pavilion is the result of the Robot Made: Large-Scale Robotic Timber Fabrication in Architecture workshop, hosted by SALA and UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing from October 13-17. The workshop was led by David Correa of the University of Waterloo, Oliver David Krieg of LWPAC, and SALA professor AnnaLisa Meyboom.

Fabricated and assembled over three days, the pavilion is conceived as an adaptable design to fabrication system that can be customized to suit local material availability and fabrication tools. Each participant is provided with the tools and skills to develop a unique version that can better meet their local needs. Built using the state-of-the-art eight-axis industrial robot at CAWP, the pavilion demonstrates how old materials and new technologies can reshape our built environment.

Starting with computational tools for parametric design, structural principles for wood construction, robotic CNC milling and digital workflow management, participants were provided with a unique insight into the new opportunities and challenges of advanced design to fabrication processes for timber structures. Parametric design and robotic fabrication are disruptive new technologies in architecture that allow us to build high performance structures of unprecedented formal complexity. Wood is a natural partner for these technologies because of the ability to easily mill and shape it with robotically controlled cutting tools. Wood is also highly sustainable – not only is it a renewable resource but it also stores carbon – making it one of the most sustainable building materials in the world.

This experimental structure demonstrates the new capabilities of the technology to develop innovative material applications that harness the unique properties of wood to animate public spaces.

Featured in AZURE magazine, Canadian Architect and Dezeen

CREDITS

Design and Development:
David Correa, University of Waterloo, llLab – Design Laboratory, Oliver David Krieg, LWPAC+IC, odk.design, Annalisa Meyboom, UBC SALA

UBC Project Leads:
Jason Chiu, UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, Jörn Dettmer, UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, Dean Gregory, Campus and Community Planning, David Gill, UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program

Teaching Assistants:
Stuart Lodge, Derek Mavis

Student Participants:
Zahra Asghari, John Chan, Selina Chau, Jessica Chen, Alex Floyd, Kemeng Gao, Junting He, Emily Kazanowski, Haobo Liu, Jia Liu, Bryn Martin, Jenna Ratzlaff, Theo Van Vugt, Trevor Vilac, Bahar Ziraknejad

Industry Participants:
Ivan Antoniw, Tony Bojarsky, Nelson Brito, Aiden Carruthers, Jamie Connolly, Andrew Drakeford, Mahdiar Ghaffarian, Elton Gjata, Michael Hiebert, Marco Kneifel, Mori Kono, Yehia Madkour, Sindhu Mahadevan, Logan Mohr, Nariman Mousavirad, Dai Ona, Aaron Oussoren, Jason Ramelson, Mallory Stuckel, Majd Sukkarieh, Taryn Sheppard

Funding:
Forest Industry Innovation

This project is a collaboration between students, staff, faculty, and external partners as part of UBC’s SEEDS Sustainability Program

Images:
David Correa, Elton Gjata, UBC SALA