The Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, was shaped by algorithms and fabricated by robots. Roland Halbe

The building was a project from the team at University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Computational Design.

Roland Halbe

The 2,700 sq. foot hall has a beech wood shell that’s made up of 243 unique geometric plates that latch together via more than 7,600 finger joints, which you can see from the interior.

Roland Halbe

The joints are invisible from the outside.

Roland Halbe

Each of the plates was computationally designed. They were then fabricated by a 7-axis robot.

Roland Halbe

This gives the robot enough flexibility to manufacture the intricate teeth of the plates.

Roland Halbe

A closer look at the teeth, which give the building its structural integrity. Roland Halbe

Each of the plates is 50 milimeters thick. Roland Halbe

Though the shape of the exhibition hall was the result of algorithms, the team at ICD was quick to clarify that even algorithms need to be designed. Roland Halbe

Computational design then, is really about enhancing the skillset of both humans and computers. Roland Halbe