On the construction site of the Kladno Living residential project, the robot known as Walter is building load-bearing walls and apartment partition walls made of precision-made acoustic bricks. The construction project in Kladno near Prague consists of five buildings with 371 apartments as well as covered parking. PORR has tested its bricklaying robot since 2025: Walter handles individual bricks weighing up to 52 kg and places them with millimetre precision based on the digital project model. The test was intended to assess practical suitability under real construction site conditions.

Walter has been an integral part of the process since the project started. This is a must, as the use of automation and robotics requires close coordination between planning, structural engineering, the client and the construction site team, as well as specific construction site planning and logistics.

“Digitalisation and robotics are among PORR’s long-term strategic priorities. Robot-assisted bricklaying is a concrete example of how modern technologies can contribute to safer and more efficient construction”, says PORR CEO Karl-Heinz Strauss.

A people business

People remain an indispensable part of the overall process. The robot works under the supervision of trained specialists and requires careful construction site preparation as well as sufficient room to move. “Construction is and will remain a people business. Our aim is not to replace people, but to provide our employees with tools that make particularly heavy work easier for them”, says Strauss.

The current generation of bricklaying robots is not only capable of building long straight walls, but can also execute corners and wall openings. The experience gained from the Kladno Living project shows that the robot is currently achieving productivity comparable to that of an experienced bricklayer. In addition to this productivity, its greatest benefit lies in taking on the most physically demanding activities, such as lifting and moving heavy construction materials. All while maintaining consistently high quality execution.

Robotics is changing construction

Robot-assisted bricklaying is one of several technologies that PORR uses alongside BIM, digital construction management and data-based solutions. Robot and automation topics of PORR Group are centrally coordinated and managed by the Construction Automation & Robotics (CAR) team. As in the case of Kladno Living, each use case is developed in response to a specific need on the construction site.

“We’re proud to have implemented this pioneering project in the Czech Republic. The experience gained from the Kladno Living project will feed into future projects and be shared across the Group”, says Dušan Čížek, Managing Director of PORR Czech Republic & Slovakia.