Wander Wood
Centre for Advanced Wood Processing, UBC Vancouver
Role: Development, planning, execution; in a research team
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 3 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.
Images by David Correa
Design & Development
David Correa
University of Waterloo, llLab Design
Oliver David Krieg
LWPAC+IC
AnnaLisa Meyboom
UBC SALA
UBC Project Leads
Jason Chiu
Jörn Dettmer
UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing
Dean Gregory
Campus and Community Planning
David Gill
UBC SEEDS Sustainability Program
Student participants
Zahra Asghari, John Chan, Selina Chau, Jessica Chen, Alex Floyd, 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, Jamie Connolly, Andrew Drakeford, Mahdiar Ghaffarian, Elton Gjata, Michael Hiebert, Marco Kneifel, Logan Mohr, Aaron Oussoren, Jason Ramelson, Majd Sukkarieh, Taryn Sheppard
Teaching Assistants
Stuart Lodge, Derek Mavis
Funding
Forest Industry Innovation
This project is a collaboration between students, staff, faculty, and external partners as part of UBC’s SEEDS Sustainability Program