AI-Generated Irregular Textures and Component Fabrication via Robotic 3D Clay Printing
Instructor: Weikun Xu (Founder of AIE Studio Qingdao; MArch, AA School of Architecture, UK)
Teaching Assistant: Wenxuan Zhao
Technical Support: DAMlab × AIEstudio × Guli Kiln
Keywords: AIGC, generative imagery, robotic fabrication, clay extrusion printing
Description:
In recent years, digital construction has transitioned from collaborative manual fabrication to increasingly intelligent and automated workflows. This workshop explores the integration of AI tools in the design-to-construction pipeline. Participants will utilize AI image generation, programming, path generation, and robotic arm printing to achieve continuous and natural variation in patterns, textures, and scales within their designs. The process translates abstract concepts into printable clay forms, ultimately enabling mass customization of non-standard components that integrate seamlessly with standardized systems.
Participants will begin with AI-generated imagery to produce initial formal concepts, then use parametric tools to optimize geometries and output machine-readable printing paths.
This workshop emphasizes the innovation of integrating customized non-standard components into standardized systems through digital technology, closing the loop from abstract concept to physical realization. Participants will use AIGC tools to generate images with semantic richness, then apply parametric translation techniques to transform visual features into geometric parameters for modular fabrication. Algorithm-driven geometric mapping replaces conventional manual design, generating visually rhythmic construction units and modular arrangement strategies. Through robotic arm 3D printing, batch construction of non-standard units is realized.
The approach breaks the uniformity of standard components while maintaining system control, offering an industrial pathway for non-standard production.
Technically, this workshop establishes a closed-loop workflow of “Image – Geometry – Fabrication.” AIGC serves as the creative engine to generate diverse forms; pixel-level feature extraction and mapping algorithms enable the conversion of imagery into designs with continuous variation in texture and scale; robotic 3D clay printing then realizes high-precision fabrication. A real-time nozzle feedback and path correction mechanism ensures geometric continuity and assembly precision.
The core of this technical route is to fuse AI’s creative potential with robotic fabrication capabilities, building a scalable system for non-standard production.
This workshop champions the synergy of “Image – Algorithm – Material – Craft,” posing not only a technological experiment but also a philosophical inquiry into human-machine co-creation: When AI becomes the “creator” of form and robots the “sculptors” of material, how should the role of the human designer be redefined? Participants are invited to use clay as a medium to help write a new chapter of digital-age craftsmanship.
Required Skills: Familiarity with DALL·E, Midjourney, ChatGPT, and other AI image generation tools; Rhino; Grasshopper
Required Hardware: Personal laptop required
Maximum Participants: 12
Instructor:
Weikun Xu
Master of Architecture, AA School of Architecture (UK); Co-Founder of AIESTUDIO
Teaching Assistant:
Wenxuan Zhao
Master’s student at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Qingdao University of Technology;
Member of the Student Branch of the Architectural Society of China.
Research focus: AIGC-assisted architectural design.
Workshop Schedule:
1.Day1(9.12): 8:00-17:00 Workshop overview, materials and equipment briefing
2.Day2(9.13): 9:00-17:00 Robotic Path Simulation and Material Assembly Strategies
3.Day3(9.14): 9:00-17:00 Design and 3D Printing of Small-Scale Components (Individual Design + Printing)
4.Day4(9.15): 9:00-17:00 Large-Scale Brick Wall Fabrication & On-Site Assembly Testing
5.Day5(9.16): 9:00-17:00 Large-Scale Brick Wall Fabrication & On-Site Assembly Testing
6.Day6(9.17): 9:00-17:00 Large-Scale Brick Wall Fabrication & On-Site Assembly Testing
7.Day7(9.18): 9:00-17:00 Large-Scale Brick Wall Fabrication & On-Site Assembly Testing
8.Day8(9.19): 9:00-17:00 iSMART 2025 International Conference Keynote Lectures
9.Day9(9.20): 9:00-17:00 Final presentations, workshop closing ceremony & exhibition launch