Rise of the Machines: Masonry Robots in Construction

Robot of the Future © Amber van Kempen

For the first time in the Netherlands, an apartment unit is being built, by both labourers and masonry robots. 

A masonry robot is a machine that can be programmed to automatically pump out layers of mortar and lay bricks. Traditionally, construction sites have been hubs of manual labour but now, human and machine can work together. 

A labourer can guide a robot’s work at the press of a few buttons on an iPad, which is connected via USB cable to the machine itself in order to receive and execute instructions. 

Masonry robots made their debut in the Netherlands in 2024, when Dutch construction and development company Ballast Nedam started work on Tuinbuurt Vrijlandt, an energy efficient home building project. 

The masonry robot Ballast Nedam started using in 2024 was developed by Dutch masonry company ROPAX. Humans supply the machine with bricks and it lays 240 per hour in comparison to the traditional mason who lays around 100 bricks per hour. Nowadays, other masonry machines can lay 1,000 bricks per hour, writes Bouw en Installatie Hub. 

With regards to the mortar, robots use 455 grams of mortar to secure bricks in place, while the traditional stone mason uses 1,000 grams. In addition, the robot produces 70% less stone waste. 

Seeing this potential, the Netherland’ biggest construction company Royal BAM Group with a focus on becoming more sustainable, invested, with two other companies, in a masonry Robot in 2018. 

Gebroeders Kok, a construction company that is specialized in agricultural contracting, agricultural engineering, nature and infrastructure construction does not work with a mason machine or a any other fully automated machines. 

“The physical demand of construction will be significantly reduced,” a Gebroeders Kok employee told The Glass Room, sharing the concerns of some construction workers.   

PAX company and Ballast Nedam, state that labourers will feel physical relief when working with a robot. Bas Meerwijk, a Ballast Nedam employee who has worked many hours side-by-side with the robotic colleague says that his back no longer hurts after a long day of work.

According to Bouw en Infra health and safety catalogue, a mason normally has to bend over 1,800 times a day to complete their work. With a robot, this is reduced, which can prevent construction workers getting back pain from frequent heavy lifting.  

“It [a masonry robot] does reduce the amount of people needed to create something. And it therefore leaves people without a job,” tells the Gebroeders Kok employee.  

Simple, repetitive jobs are easy to automate. However, fields that require creativity and feeling, like some aspects of construction, cannot be done by a robot that only functions with specific programming. 

He finds parallels between automation in constructions and agriculture, where he also works. He says that in some instances it is good to automate a task; however, no matter how efficient a robot is, it cannot replace a labourer completely. There will always be a need to check precision and calculations like the amount of mortar is needed for the amount of bricks. 

When asking about whether they think that the future of construction will be one of full automation, the employee at Gebroeders Kok is sceptic. While referring to roadside construction he says that “specialized fields will continue to exist.”