On-site Holographic Building Construction: A Case Study of Aurora

Abstract

Geometrically complex building components' reliance on high-touch implementation often results in tedious information reprocessing. Recent use of Mixed Reality (MR) in architectural practices, however, can reduce data translation and potentially increase design-to-build efficiency. This paper uses Aurora, a singlestory residential building for 2021 China's Solar Decathlon Competition, as a demonstrator to evaluate the performance of on-site holographic building construction. This paper firstly reviews recent studies of MR in architectural design and practice. It then describes an MR-aided construction process of Aurora's non-standard building envelope and rooftop mounting structure, where in-situ holographic registration, human-machine cooperation, and as-built analysis are discussed. This paper concludes by stating that MR technologies provide unskilled implementers with a handy approach to materialise complex designs. The research was guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially aligning with the GOAL 9 which seeks innovations in industry and infrastructure.