research topic(s): robotic fabrication, timber pavilion, polyhedral design, accessible construction
material: dimensional lumber
location: Bethel, NY
size: 110 sqft. and 14'-7" tall
principal investigator(s): Ekin Erar and Lawson Spencer
client: Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
fabrication: Varun Gandhi, Brooke Kenworthy, Yuji Kiamura
assembly: Helen Bennett, Clark Dong, Varun Gandhi, Jacob Gibbons, Emily Hong, Austin Johnson, Torben Karl, Brooke Kenworthy, Yuji Kitamura, Amina Lahham, Bo Li, Katie Marr, Edozie Onumonu, Kobe Phillips, Saffiyah Subhan-Khan, and Chandler Vogel
art direction and curation: Neal Lucas Hitch
lighting design: Post-Operations with Emma Silverblatt and Ryan Whitby
additional support: Kurt Brosnan, Sydney Boyd, Mel Banta, the Syracuse University School of Architecture, and the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University & the Cornell AAP Autodesk Design and Make shop team
funded by: Bethel Center for the Arts, Cornell AAP Fund for Sustainability, and the Cornell Center for the Arts (CCA)
cover image: © Nana A. Iso
polylith after Buildfest 2 | Nana A. Iso
Polylith is a pavilion designed for BuildFest 2: Peace Rises. Centering construction labor as a collective act, it commemorates the powerful yet ephemeral experience of building together—becoming a monument that transcends its physical form. Conceived as an evolving process rather than a static object, the pavilion prioritizes shared authorship over formal resolution through its modular design.
The project leverages industrial robotics to automate the fabrication of each module with intricate timber joints that would otherwise be difficult to produce by hand. Off-site fabrication is planned to make an on-site construction approachable and efficient for the festival participants who will assemble the pavilion. By prefabricating the timber members, modules can be easily stacked and joined on site. This mode of material construction reframes automation and technology in relation to design and construction labor, proposing a non-hierarchical collaboration between human and machine while establishing a workflow for advanced fabrication techniques within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries.
team members stacking modules | Yuji Kitamura
aerial perspective of team members stacking modules together | Neal Lucas Hitch
6-axis robotic arm milling 2 modules of dimensional lumber for polylith
top view of Polylith | Nana A. Iso
detail photo of stacked octahedra | Ekin Erar
view looking up from under the arch | Nana A. Iso
night perspective of Polylith while Sean Choi is mixing | Yuji Kitamura
day perspective of Polylith shortly after completion | Nana A. Iso
sound responsive lighting design by Post-Operations, while AlwaysForOnly is mixing | Ryan Whitby
manual for assembly | Yuji Kitamura
under the arch of polylith | Ekin Erar
AlwaysForOnly mixing in Polylith at Buildfest 2 | BreydanAnderson