Timber Pavilion Opening at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens

Join us for the public opening of the Robotically Fabricated Structure (RFS) at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Brief remarks by Dean Jonathan Massey and project lead Arash Adel will be followed by a ribbon cutting to open this state-of-the-art timber structure.

RFS is a robotically fabricated timber pavilion that explores new responsible and precise ways of creating our built environment. Contributing to outlooks for sustainable and low-carbon construction, RFS was built and sited on the Matthaei Botanical Gardens in Ann Arbor through robot and human collaboration using standard off-the-shelf lumber that was regionally sourced. The structure was designed and fabricated by ADR Laboratory (Taubman College Assistant Professor Arash Adel), research assistants, and Taubman College students, employing Taubman College’s state-of-the-art robotic fabrication facilities. This outdoor structure offers new public gathering points while maintaining an open-air condition marked by pandemic times.

Completing RFS elevated the ongoing research in robotic timber construction to the scale and complexities of full and complete building systems beyond the laboratory. The faculty leadership is fully invested in advancing the larger questions of how and why we make, and this project explores and tests new ways of building the future. Join us to learn more and to be among the first to visit the pavilion.