A new robotic manufacturing facility near Barcelona, dubbed the “Cathedral of Robotic Artisans” (Cora), has been opened by international master’s students at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC). Located next to the Centre for Digital Manufacturing and Research at the Valldaura Lab Campus in Collserola Nature Park, the robot chapel blends adaptive reuse with digital fabrication.
Built within a 19th-century brick stable, the structure retains its original masonry shell. To support a six-axis milling robot, students cast a reinforced floor slab using recycled bricks sourced from the campus. Inside, a prefabricated timber framework made from cross-laminated timber was assembled and anchored with steel connectors.
Seven timber columns support an 8.8-by-4.6-meter roof grid, designed using the Voronoi diagram—a geometric system common in computational modelling. The polygonal roof pattern was generated algorithmically, reflecting the digital design process. Structural nodes were CNC-milled on campus; limited cutting depth required some joints to be built from multiple bonded layers. Traditional carpentry techniques, including finger joints and mortise-and-tenon connections, were used to complete the assembly.
A central skylight brings natural light into the workspace, while the rest of the roof is planted with vegetation and equipped with irrigation. On three sides, timber supports extend beyond the brick perimeter and are clad in cross-laminated timber panels. Whilst the exterior features a CNC-milled honeycomb texture that echoes the Voronoi geometry, the interior surfaces remain untreated to showcase the raw timber.
