Form From Nature

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BACKGROUND The increasing urgency of low-carbon construction has renewed interest in natural materials such as earth, which offer low embodied energy and recyclability. At the same time, advances in computational design and digital fabrication enable the generation of complex, performance-driven architectural forms. However, integrating natural materials—traditionally associated with manual construction—into computational design workflows remains a key challenge. This project addresses this gap by applying topology optimisation and robotic fabrication to natural materials, establishing a design-to-construction framework that integrates material behaviour, generative design, and digital fabrication.

CONTRIBUTION Form From Nature is a design-led research project developed as part of the 14th DigitalFUTURES Global Workshop and Exhibition (Shanghai). Led by Dr Nic Bao, who was invited to lead the workshop, the project was developed in collaboration with Prof. Yi Min ‘Mike’ Xie (RMIT), Dr Xin Yan (BUCEA), and Prof. Jun Mu’s team, together with Onearth Studio. The project integrates Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimisation (BESO) with robotic fabrication to generate and construct a topology-optimised curved rammed earth wall. A hybrid workflow combines robotic 3D printed moulds with traditional rammed earth construction, enabling complex freeform geometries while maintaining low-carbon material performance. The work establishes a methodology for integrating natural materials with computational design and digital fabrication in performance-driven architectural systems.

SIGNIFICANCE The project was exhibited within the 14th DigitalFUTURES Global Workshop and Exhibition (Shanghai), an internationally recognised platform co-curated by Philip Yuan, Neil Leach, Achim Menges, Mark Burry, and Mette Thomsen, evidencing strong international peer recognition. It demonstrates leadership in international design research and education through cross-institutional collaboration between RMIT, BUCEA, and industry partners. The project advances research in sustainable construction, computational design, and robotic fabrication by demonstrating how rammed earth can be integrated with optimisation algorithms and digital workflows. It establishes a new paradigm for combining low-carbon materials, generative design, and fabrication technologies in environmentally responsive architecture.