Konrad Wachsmann's Shift from Product to Process

Between 1940 and 1960, architect Konrad Wachsmann explored the theoretical concept of an architectural universal through the joint building system and fabrication methods.

This building machine called the Location Orientation Manipulator (L.O.M.) was developed by Wachsmann and his doctoral students John Bollinger and Xavier Mendoza between 1969 and 1971 at the University of Southern California. This machine was unique from other robotic manipulators at the time because it was developed by architects to study the kinematics of architectural building assembly.

Though the L.O.M. was lost shortly after its construction, the team was able to virtually reconstruct the machine from the dissertation of Bollinger and Mendoza, images, and video. Through the digital reconstruction, the team observed the tooling, machinery, and processes utilized to produce the individual components of the L.O.M. in 1971.

This analysis is best exemplified in the virtual reconstruction of the translational component which allowed the team to rotate and manipulate different joints on axis, resulting in a better understanding of how the machine was designed to assemble buildings.

Files

Metadata

Work Title Konrad Wachsmann's Shift from Product to Process
Subtitle Location Orientation Manipulator
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Elizabeth Andrzejewski
Keyword
  1. Konrad Wachsmann
  2. Robotic assembly
  3. Location Orientation Manipulator (L.O.M.)
  4. Virtual reconstruction
  5. Architecture
License CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial)
Work Type Poster
Publication Date September 23, 2021
Source
  1. Fall 2021 Stuckeman Research Open House
Deposited February 18, 2022

Versions

Analytics

Collections

Work History

Version 1
published

  • Created

    February 18, 2022 15:45 by qum7

  • Added Creator Elizabeth Andrzejewski

    February 18, 2022 15:45 by qum7

  • Added Konrad Andrzejewski 2.pdf

    February 18, 2022 15:45 by qum7

  • Updated License Show Changes

    February 18, 2022 15:46 by qum7

    License
    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
  • Updated Description Show Changes

    February 18, 2022 15:47 by qum7

    Description
    • Between 1940 and 1960, architect Konrad Wachsmann explored the theoretical concept of an architectural universal through the joint building system and fabrication methods.
    • This building machine called the Location Orientation Manipulator (L.O.M.) was developed by Wachsmann and his doctoral students John Bollinger and Xavier Mendoza between 1969 and 1971 at the University of Southern California. This machine was unique from other robotic manipulators at the time because it was developed by architects to study the kinematics of architectural building assembly.
    • Though the L.O.M. was lost shortly after its construction, the team was able to virtually reconstruct the machine from the dissertation of Bollinger and Mendoza, images, and video. Through the digital reconstruction, the team observed the tooling, machinery, and processes utilized to produce the individual components of the L.O.M. in 1971. This analysis is best exemplified in the virtual reconstruction of the translational component which allowed the team to rotate and manipulate different joints on axis, resulting in a better understanding of how the machine was designed to assemble buildings.
    • Though the L.O.M. was lost shortly after its construction, the team was able to virtually reconstruct the machine from the dissertation of Bollinger and Mendoza, images, and video. Through the digital reconstruction, the team observed the tooling, machinery, and processes utilized to produce the individual components of the L.O.M. in 1971.
    • This analysis is best exemplified in the virtual reconstruction of the translational component which allowed the team to rotate and manipulate different joints on axis, resulting in a better understanding of how the machine was designed to assemble buildings.
  • Published

    February 18, 2022 15:48 by qum7

  • Updated

    March 22, 2022 16:18 by [unknown user]