Foster’s swarm robots invert timber construction

Foster + Partners is part of a consortium that has won a £4m, three-year research grant from the European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder funding programme. The SWIFT-BUILD – shorthand for Swarm-based Inverted Fabrication for Timber Buildings – system uses swarms of robotic assemblers and lifting units to build modular timber structures that can be adapted over time and disassembled on demand.

By focusing on timber as a structural material, SWIFT-BUILD combines innovation in automated construction with sustainability, flexibility and cost-efficiency, according to Foster + Partners.

SWIFT-BUILD develops an inverted robotic construction system that builds timber structures from the top down – assembling each floor at ground level, then lifting it upward to make room for the next. A team of coordinated robots handles the work: ground-based machines assemble and lift the structure layer by layer, while drones fly overhead to monitor progress and flag any issues in real-time. The robots share information continuously, allowing them to adapt and operate safely without constant human intervention.

The project will culminate in a full-scale demonstration: an autonomous robotic swarm will construct a timber pavilion. As per the system’s intent, the structure will be mechanically reversible by design, enabling selective disassembly and material recovery to demonstrate circularity and sustainability. 

Irene Gallou, senior partner at Foster + Partners, said: “Combining state-of-the-art robotics and integrated AI tools, SWIFT-BUILD’s inverted construction method can adapt to various scales and uses, with the potential for wide-reaching applications. The focus on timber modular construction highlights the project’s sustainable agenda, with circularity and flexibility at its core.”

Foster + Partners is acting as the consortium’s industry partner, alongside academic partners: the University of Bristol; the University of Southern Denmark; the Technical University of Munich; the University of Pisa; the Delft University of Technology; the University of Birmingham; and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.