Developed at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Minibuilders is a research project comprised of a family of small-scale construction robots capable of constructing objects far larger than the robot itself. Each of the robots is designed to perform a diverse task, linked to the different phases of construction, finally working together as a family towards the implementation of a single structural outcome.

Robotics offers great potential towards innovation within the construction industry. However, in their current implementation applied to the architectural field, in particular construction robotics, these systems all share a specific limitation: the objects they produce are linked to and constrained proportionally to the size of the machine. This methodology of production and construction is not scalable. In this sense, to create a house, using current construction robotics, the machine needed must have a work envelope as large as the house itself. Hence, the project here below elaborated aims to address this particular limitation through the creation of a technology that is both scalable and capable of fabricating structures using tools that are independent of the final product’s shape or size.