Towards a Digital Vernacular: Building a Circular Robotic Housing Chassis
Towards a Digital Vernacular: Building a Circular Robotic Housing Chassis
Speaker:
Luis Rivero Torres
Summary:
The Australian Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is currently navigating a critical juncture, defined by a severe skilled labour deficit and mounting pressure to reduce material waste. This talk introduces the “Circular Robotic Housing Chassis”, a reversible, metal-free timber building platform designed to confront these socio-technical challenges. By shifting construction complexity away from the building site and into an algorithmic pre-fabrication workflow, this research reimagines traditional timber joinery as a scalable “Digital Vernacular”. In this CPD, we will explore the current Australian socio-technical landscape shaping the AEC industry towards automation, demonstrating how bridging the gap between circular material sourcing and accessible robotic manufacturing can empower architects to deliver high-quality, sustainable residential housing without relying on scarce manual labour
This talk was delivered online on 26 November 2025. Talk duration is 1 hour and 19 minutes.
Speaker Bio:
Luis is a Mexican architect with nine years’ experience in computational design, BIM, and digital fabrication. He has contributed to projects in Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Africa, advancing digital workflows and emerging technologies. Currently, he is a PhD candidate at Swinburne, and member of ARC Centre Arch_Manu.
CPD Details:
This talk is offered as a formal CPD activity for architects, mapped to performance criteria PC39 and PC45 in the Australian 2021 National Standard of Competencies for Architects.
A copy of the CPD questions can be accessed here. If you take notes in digital format during the video, you will be able to copy/paste your answers into the questionnaire at the end.
Upon completion of the video, a link to the CPD questionnaire will be unlocked. Submit your answers via that link to earn 1 formal CPD point and receive your certificate for record-keeping purposes. Note: The questionnaire link will only load if the video is viewed from this webpage. If you navigate to YouTube to view the video, you will not be able to access it.