Digital Turn: First Turn

Design Computation Lab (DCL) is a research laboratory that develops novel design methods for the utilization of computational technologies in architectural design, fabrication and assembly.

Based at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, the work on display in this exhibition is a curated selection from several years of work utilising robotic extrusion and robotic assembly to explore the potential of automated design and construction techniques.

The lab’s work is framed around the notion that we need to rethink the basic building blocks of architecture. It embodies a fundamental shift, one that demonstrates that a discrete and wholly digital architecture and design thinking can close gaps between the way in which we design and the way in which we fabricate and assemble buildings.

The work presented here aims to encourage architects and designers to think evocatively and creatively about the way in which we engage with other disciplines, industries and professions, including robotics, construction, computer science, manufacturing, policy-making, and the material sciences. 

The exhibition and programme of events is curated by the exhibitions team at The Building Centre and is supported by The Built Environment Trust. We would like to thank Mollie Claypool, Gilles Retsin, Manuel Garcia and the rest of the DCL team for their involvement in the show.