#prefabrication

#prefabrication

Revealed during the International Astronautical Congress in Sydney, Charlotte is a six leg construction robot from Crest Robotics that targets speed as the central problem. The makers say the machine can complete the shell of a 200 square meter (2,150 square foot) dwelling in about 24 hours. Coverage compares that output to 100 bricklayers over the same period. The idea pairs a walking chassis with an under carriage fabrication system so the body hovers over the wall path while the legs step the machine forward.

Text description provided by the architects. The project is based on total prefabrication in reinforced concrete. Modular panels make up all the building elements: facades, roofs and interior partitions. The typification of elements made it possible to speed up and simplify the construction, while emphasising the building's image.

The Softshell is constructed from a timber frame clad in canvas panels, its sharply pitched form recalling a familiar A-frame cabin. The canvas outer is made from a cotton-polyester blend, and comes in khaki, dark green, or navy colorways. Inside, the modular, hybrid structure offers a kitchenette, bathroom, window, and sitting area, while the verticality of the frame makes space for a hammock-like sleeping loft suspended in netting.

The company that makes them, Reframe, is the latest outfit chasing the construction sector's forever dream, in which buildings are assembled in factories like computers or cars, saving time and money in a field that everyone agrees requires too much of both. The technical name for this practice is modular construction, which has at times seemed as if it is the undisputed technology of the future.

The Modular BV system redefines prefabricated housing, merging engineered precision with climate-smart design, producing homes that adapt seamlessly to their environments.

"Take your pleasure seriously," Charles and Ray Eames famously said in reference to cinema, culture, design, and, of course, architecture.