How will computers continue to shape architecture over the next few decades" To get some ideas, you just need to look at the portfolio of Gramazio & Kohler, an architectural robotic laboratory based at Swiss university ETH Zurich and led by Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler. Mathematics, computation, augmented reality, material science, and robotics play major roles in their fascinating works, exploring emerging technologies in a way that feels exciting and avant garde.

Three new computationally designed timber walls at the Basler & Hofmann cafeteria in Esslingen, Switzerland display one aspect of Gramazio & Kohler’s innovative touch to dazzling effect. The walls aren’t just decorative. They’re intended to improve the acoustics of the room while also functioning as air ducts for a ventilation system integrated into the walls. The way in which they were made is a fascinating evolution of traditional carpentry. The 8,500 individual modules are identical angle-cut fir wood blocks, but each one is set at a slightly different angle as determined by a computer, creating a pattern of shadow and light that changes throughout the day. Carpenters are then equipped with custom-built camera controller units in order to place the blocks as directed, with an augmented reality monitor prompting them to turn the blocks until they’re in exactly the right position.

Have you ever seen bricks used quite like this" The new front facade for the he...