Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) finally presents the most-awaited robotic fabrication created by experimental German architect Achim Menges with Moritz Dörstelmann, structural engineer Jan Knippers and climate engineer Thomas Auer. The temporal robotic installation will be on view until Sunday, 6 November 2016 at the V&A Museum.

The pavilion explores the impact and multiple ways of emerging robotic technologies on architectural design, engineering and making. Achim Menges and Jan Knippers are leaders of research institutes at the University of Stuttgart that are pioneering the integration of biomimicry, robotic fabrication and new materials research in architecture. This temporary installation derives from their ongoing research projects and is their first-ever major commission in the UK. 

The design follows up lightweight construction principles found in nature, and the filament structures of the forewing shells of flying beetles known as 'elytra'. Made of glass and carbon fibre, each component of the undulating canopy is produced using an innovative robotic winding technique developed by the designers. Like beetle elytra, the pavilion’s filament structure is both very strong and very light, spanning over 200 square meters and it weighs less than 2,5 tonnes.

Elytra is a non-standard, responsive shelter and will grow over the course of the V&A Engineering Season. Sensors in the canopy fibres will collect data on how visitors inhabit the pavilion and monitor the structure’s behaviour, ultimately informing how and where the canopy grows. During a series of special events as part of the Engineering Season, visitors will have the opportunity to witness the pavilion’s construction live, as new components are fabricated on-site by a Kuka robot.

All images © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

> via Victoria and Albert Museum