Robotics Lab Competition

2017 Robotics Lab Proposal

Rayni Kovacs & Ricardo Henriques

The goal of our project is to use transparency to bridge the old with the new,the interior with the exterior, and the private with the public. This is shown with a gradient starting with the existing stucco to CMU blocks that then fade away into glass and transparent structures. Our main fabrication and assembly space is large, open, and flexible which will allow maximum efficiency for the robotic arm while also creating more room for the future. Being aware that technology is constantly changing, preparing for future robotics and computers is imperative. Having the hierarchical fabrication and assembly zone being transparent blurs boundaries between the public and private, and the indoor and outdoors. After conducting several interviews with students and staff, we also propose an extension of the existing woodshop so as to grant more space for the metal working equipment that is currently not being used because of a lack of space. In the front of this extension will be a semi-transparent 3D printing lab, exposing this technology at work to passersby. Throughout the project, the various levels of transparency implemented conceptually and architecturally enhance students’ exposure to the addition for the new technology and the robotics themselves.