Robotic Adjustments in Reclaimed Timber Framework

Name
You-Wei Yen
Education degree
Kandidat
Fagfelt
Architecture
Institute
Architecture and Technology
Program
Computation in Architecture
Year
2023
Awards
Duravit

After disassembling buildings, they enter the circular economy and are usually degraded into smaller pieces through practices such as wood recycling, repurposing, and upcycling. The lifecycle of wood can be extended, reducing the need for new raw materials. To retain as much value as possible, we can use the piece as much as it is before entering the wood cascading process.

When the wood is being reused, we usually cut away the parts where the original joints exist, resulting in a shorter primitive material. Still, if these joints are kept, their sizes must be evaluated. We can reuse and re-machine the existing joints on the beam, minimizing the excess material being cut off. 

After a timber frame house is disassembled, each piece is evaluated and scanned to determine future use. When the design is made, using the scans that had been done, we can extract the properties, such as original joints on the reclaimed timber, to apply qualified material and optimize the waste. Afterward, when the wood is sent to the machining process, we can pass the data extracted from the timber beam to make machine adjustments on remilling the joints or adapting to their unique feature. Lastly, after the modules are robotically assembled, they are taken to assembly on-site.

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Reclaimed Timber for Modular Construction
Proposed Process
Digital Workflow

How do we acquire and track material inconsistencies and enable the process of adaptive robotic assembly with reclaimed timber? 

  • Extraction of features from inconsistent material
  • Customized digital tools within the design environment
  • A digital framework to adapt fabrication information
  • Experiments on robotically applicable joints

 

 

Detect and Extract Reclaimed Timber Joint Data

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Acquired Reclaimed Timber
Point Cloud Scan
Plane Segmentation
Joint Identification

Customized tools for reclaimed timber to design with minimal waste and making adjustments for fabrication

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Fabrication on Robotic Applicable Joints

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Robotic Milling
Robotic Applicable Joints
Robotic Applicable Joints
Joined Reclaimed Beams
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Reclaimed Timber Truss
Reclaimed Timber Information
Modularizing Reclaimed Timber
Reclaimed Timber Frame

The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals

Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s)
Legat

Duravit

I motivationen lyder det: "You Wei Yen’s project explores how modern fabrication methods can enable the circular use of reclaimed timber. Through the design and robotic manufacture of prefabricated timber modules, You Wei develops digital workflows for acquiring and analyzing material inconsistencies and features, and demonstrates how adapting the fabrication process to account for non-standard material can support the circular use of anthropogenic resources."

CV
You-Wei is a Computational Designer with a background in Architecture. He is interested in developing data-driven design methodologies that can provide adaptive solutions from design concepts to fabrication.
Competitions, Publications & Awards
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Winner of Best hack from a Past Event

AEC Hackathon at BLOXHUB, Team Award
Education & Relevant Courses
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Master of Arts in Computation in Architecture, CITA Studio, KADK

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Bachelor of Architecture, Feng-Chia University

Professional Work Experience
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Computational Design Intern - Link Arkitektur/ Link IO - Copenhagen, Denmark

Improving internal early-phase design tools and scripts; DGNB rose in VB Excel; Developing IFC parser for Grasshopper in C# using XBIM
IT skills
3D: Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit
2D: Adobe Suites, Autocad
Rendering: Vray, Twinmotion, Lumion, UnrealEngine
Mapping: ArcGIS, QGIS
Programming: Python, C#, VB
Language skills
Mandarin (Native Speaker)
Taiwanese (Native Speaker)
English (Proficient, C2 Level)