Assembled Again: Material Memory and Computationally Crafted Patterns of re-used bricks in Contemporary Half-Timber Architecture
(2026) ASEM01 20261Department of Architecture and Built Environment
- Abstract
- This thesis, investigates how computational design methods can translate individually distinct reused brick fragments into expressive architectural façade systems. By combining material classification, digital pattern generation, and principles of robotic fabrication, the project explores how variation can be composed rather than eliminated.
The research is situated within the historical context of half-timbered architecture in Skåne and eastern Denmark, resulting in the architectural application of a contemporary half-timber villa in Hæsnæs, Denmark. Here, infill masonry becomes a medium for negotiating between material memory, industrialised waste streams, and digital design systems. Rather than seeking uniformity, the thesis proposes a... (More) - This thesis, investigates how computational design methods can translate individually distinct reused brick fragments into expressive architectural façade systems. By combining material classification, digital pattern generation, and principles of robotic fabrication, the project explores how variation can be composed rather than eliminated.
The research is situated within the historical context of half-timbered architecture in Skåne and eastern Denmark, resulting in the architectural application of a contemporary half-timber villa in Hæsnæs, Denmark. Here, infill masonry becomes a medium for negotiating between material memory, industrialised waste streams, and digital design systems. Rather than seeking uniformity, the thesis proposes a framework where irregularity, reuse, and computational logic collectively create architectural expression. The outcome suggests a hybrid condition in which human handmade artistic expression and digital processes collaborate to produce material-driven, non-standard architectural surfaces rooted in locality and reuse. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9241304
- author
- Hjortstam, Elvira LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- ASEM01 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- vernacular architecture, digital architecture, pattern generation, reuse brick
- language
- English
- id
- 9241304
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-18 11:37:44
- date last changed
- 2026-06-18 11:37:44
@misc{9241304,
abstract = {{This thesis, investigates how computational design methods can translate individually distinct reused brick fragments into expressive architectural façade systems. By combining material classification, digital pattern generation, and principles of robotic fabrication, the project explores how variation can be composed rather than eliminated.
The research is situated within the historical context of half-timbered architecture in Skåne and eastern Denmark, resulting in the architectural application of a contemporary half-timber villa in Hæsnæs, Denmark. Here, infill masonry becomes a medium for negotiating between material memory, industrialised waste streams, and digital design systems. Rather than seeking uniformity, the thesis proposes a framework where irregularity, reuse, and computational logic collectively create architectural expression. The outcome suggests a hybrid condition in which human handmade artistic expression and digital processes collaborate to produce material-driven, non-standard architectural surfaces rooted in locality and reuse.}},
author = {{Hjortstam, Elvira}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Assembled Again: Material Memory and Computationally Crafted Patterns of re-used bricks in Contemporary Half-Timber Architecture}},
year = {{2026}},
}