Week 10: Digital fabrications and robotics

Digital fabrication technologies have revived the link between architect and builder. Through robotics, highly complex and large scale designs are being created. This lecture will discuss the reconnection of design and construction and the roles of making.

In the emerging architecture of the digital era, more architectural designs are materialized digital information- designed and documented with digital software, fabricated with digitally controlled machinery and assembled on site using digital technology. Architecture has evolved significantly into the digitally driven type of architecture.

Douglas Engelbart claimed he invented the mouse and claimed that it was necessary that humans required the act of communicating with each other in real time to increase human intelligence. This idea grew into a concept that involved the growth between computers and humans to become submerged within each other so that the human would metaphorically become the prosthetic. Which therefore led to the development of the mouse as an initial attempt at ‘co-evolving’ into this futuristic concept.

Wigley has suggested that the mouse has to be both part of the computer, as computers are previously define as a large, inorganic machines. The rise of personal computing and the inclusion of the mouse in 1982 created a much more friendly experience. We are dependent on what we see on the screen of virtual world, whereby the sensitivity starts to blur the distinction between reality and virtual “two organisms into one, allowing the electrical signals in the nervous system to simulate and be simulated by the electrical signal in the computer.

References:

Wigley, M (2010), "The Architecture of the Mouse", Architectural Design: EcoRedux: Design Remedies for an Ailing Planet, vol.80, no.6, pp. 50-57.

Week9: Materiality

Architectural and construction manufacturing industries have been exposed with new technologies, and transforming modern designer and architects to explore new materiality disregarded the complexity of its shape and form and sending the responsibilities to engineers. When we consider materiality, we are then exposed with morphogenesis, define as growth and evolutionary development, which generates systems that derive complex articulation, specific gestalt and performative capacity through the interaction of material characteristics, as well as external stimuli of environmental forces and influences.

Evolving the understanding of material systems through the embedding of material characteristics, geometric behaviour, manufacturing constraints and assembly logics within an integral computational model promotes an understanding of form, material, structure and behaviour as a series of complex interrelations. All these complex forms and system that’s define by materiality would be impossible to realize without the use of digital modelling, coding and visual scripting, as designers and architects are able to collaborate with other professions in order to understand material composition and simulation accuracy. Thus an integrative process is required to enable design innovation as well as driving better outcomes.

Materiality are also define as Growth of the individual instance: Utilising the internal dataset/growth rules or genotype, or the variable gestalt resulting from the interaction of the genotype to the environment or phenotype.  In reality we are miss perception the reality of architecture by limiting our visualisation in two common ways, one is to see the building as a system of components and being realized by construction, second is to view it as a system of representations outlined in composition and experienced in perception. Both make the building into an object, Therefore, material effect are by fact is the performative aspect of the building performance.

References:

Menges, A. (2011). Integral Foundation and materialisation: Computational Form and Material Gesault, Computational design thinking AD reader. A. Menges and S. Ahlquist. Chichester, UK, John Wiley & Sons: 198-210. 

Trummer, P. (2011). Associative Design: From Type to Population. Computational design thinking AD reader. A. Menges and S. Ahlquist. Chichester, UK, John Wiley & Sons: 179-197.  

Kolarevic, B. and K. R. Klinger (2008). Manufacturing/ Material/ Effects. Manufacturing material effects : rethinking design and making in architecture. B. Kolarevic and K. R. Klinger. New York,  Routledge: 5-24.  

Bernstein, P. G., A. Inc and Y. University (2008). Thinking versus Making: Remediating Design Practice in the Age of Digital Representation. Manufacturing material effects : rethinking design and making in architecture. B. Kolarevic and K. R. Klinger. New York, Routledge: 61-66.  

week8: Visualization and the image

Digital renderings have become a common tool in everyday practice for the presentation of design. 3D models developed in the computer also provide the ability to view, explore and critique formal propositions from the conceptualisation stages. Walter Benjamin in the article explored these visual implications and the changing meaning of the reproduction. "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." He started off with a brief history in the profound shift of visualisation. The art of Visualization became truly recognizable in the nineteenth century as lithography made its appearance (a form of printing). This was then was surpassed by photography an art medium in which we use today. Benjamin also pointed out visualization benefits, these benefits are photography reproduction process can bring out those aspects of the original that are unattainable to the naked eye, technical reproduction can put the copy of the original into situations which would be out of reach for the original itself. There are also limitation in visualization as he mention that the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be (Benjamin, 2016).

“Architecture After the Age of Printing” by Peter Eisenman discuss perspective of visualisation in a later period to Benjamin. Eisenman focuses visualization through a design tools such as BIM. He discuss that architecture never adequately thought through the problem of vision because it remained within the concept of the subject and the four walls. Architecture, unlike any other discipline, concertized vision. Vision can be defined as essentially a way of organizing space and elements in space. It is a way of looking at and defines a relationship between a subject and an object (Eisenman, pp.15-22).

“Question of Representation” by Alberto Perez Gomez discuss that production of architecture has had an automatic positive effect on our built environment. Visualization tools such as videos, computer-graphics and virtual image have transformed our conceptual understanding of reality. Architectural conception and realization usually assume a one-to-one correspondence between the represented idea and the final building (Gomez, pp.11-22).

Reference List

Benjamin, W (1936), "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction", from http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/ge/benjamin.htm

Eisenman, P (2013), Architecture After the Age of Printing, AD reader: The digital turn in architecture 1992-2012, M. Carpo, Chichester, Wiley: 15-22

Perez-Gomez, A (2007), Questions of representation: the poetic origin of architecture. From models to drawings: imagination and representation in architecture, M. Frascari, J. Hale and B. Starkey, London , New York, Routledge: 11-22

week 7: BIM and new technologies in practice

Building information modeling (BIM) is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. BIM plays a significant role in an architectural world, helping architects to define the design space in both 2D and 3D allowing designers to work with flexibility.in the book “Digital Workflow in Architecture”, Scott Marble made a statement that, as designs becoming more virtual and the exchange between insight and knowledge become intertwine with the mean of execution and production, it becomes more difficult for architecture to remain separated from building and simultaneously preserve its own status (Marble, pp.72-73). David Benjamin also sees BIM in a similar manner as he discussed that BIM tools are useful in predicting the best design based on standard rules when the design problem is complex. He also stated that BIM allowing architects to explore more solutions such as algorithms, and that it is a great influence on the outcome of architectural design process (Benjamin, pp.14-25).

Dominik Holzer's article, “BIM’s Seven Deadly Sins”, introduces 7 ideas that proven that BIM has its many downfalls. Technocentricity ​(mainly focus on the software instead of the design culture), ­ Ambiguity ​(does not always get the message across for the users in terms of the difference between 4D, 5D, 6D and 7D BIM. ­ Elision ​(not suitable for creating files in a later stage), ­ Hypocrisy ​­ (the IPD excuse), ­ Delusion ​­ (asking for 2D while requiring 3D work)­ Diffidence ​­ (rejecting the need for process change since there are substantial costs for software licenses and training staff) and Monodisciplinarity ​­ (some current BIM tools does not support early design collaboration across various disciplines (Holzer, pp.463-480).

References List:

Holzer, D (2011), "BIM's Seven Deadly Sins," International Journal of Architectural Computing 9, pp. 463-480

Benjamin, D (2012), Beyond Efficiency, Digital workflows in architecture: design - assembly – industry, S. Marble. Basel, Birkhäuser, pp. 14-25

 Marble, S (2012), BIM 2.0, Digital workflows in architecture: design - assembly – industry, S. Marble. Basel, Birkhäuser, pp. 72-73

week 2

Design to Production 

Non regular design process and the complex forms are becoming more ideally for the architectural industry. In the article “Materialising complexity” by Fabian Scheurer illustrates how algorithm is much easier to handle than the set of drawings, especially when it comes to changes. This new form of design to production did not erase the analogue process but only shift to higher degree of abstraction, programing instead of drawing. He also provides a comprehensive account of how this shift to curvilinear and complex forms has impacted on design and production methods, and the strengths and pitfalls of parametric design and CNC fabrication. (Scheurer 2014, pp. 283-291).

The importance of design to production was also illustrated in the articles “Information Master Builders”, by Branko Kolarevic as he discuss that in the past decades,  there is a disassociation between architects and engineers as architects are to be seen as a draftsmen, a position with no control over the production process. As architectural industry immensely increased amount of information that needs to be handled in the planning phase. The integration of knowledge about structure, materials, fabrication and construction into the design is key to the creation of efficient planning and production processes. In other words, to become more like master builders (Kolarevic 2003, pp. 55-62).

In the article “Relations: Information Exchange in Designing and Making Architecture” by Kevin R. Klinger explains the digital information technology is the essential agent of innovation in a total process of architecture. He also noted the effective exchange of information is the fundamental in achieving architecture materially, and is increasingly reliant upon close collaboration between architects, manufacturers, fabricators, material suppliers, engineers and many other in the early conceptual design stages (Klingler 2008, pp. 26-36). 

Reference list

Klinger, K. (2008). Relations: Information Exchange in Designing and Making Architecture. Manufacturing material effects: rethinking design and making in architecture. B. Kolarevic and K. R. Klinger. New York, Routledge, pp. 26-36.

 Kolarevic, B. (2003). Information Master Builders. Architecture in the digital age: design and manufacturing. B. Kolarevic. New York, NY, Spon Press, pp. 55-62.

 Scheurer, F. (2014). Materialising Complexity. Theories of the digital in architecture. R. Oxman and R. Oxman, pp. 283-291.

Week 1: Analogue to digital

Design in architecture has enormously evolved over time through the use of technologies. The articles “Information Master Builders”, by Branko Kolarevic explores the change of Designs from drawing through to Fabrication Machines. The article provide a profound introduction to the important role of digital technologies in architectural design and related fields. Kolarevic mentioned in the introduction that architects are becoming more aware of the power of digital fabrication that can be easily controlled by computer machinery, making it time-consuming and error-prone of drawing unnecessary. Kolarevic discuss that CNC milling, 3D printing are just some of the examples that have greatly became more popular for modern architect to embrace the idea of organic forms. Architects are now becoming more generalise in a lot of areas as advanced technologies are used in the design process. Modern technologies are providing unprecedented opportunities for architects to regain the authority they once had over the building process, not only in design but also in construction. In the article “Transgression from drawing to making” by Bob Sheil theory are similar to Kolarevic theory as he explains the impact of modern technologies effects the role of architects to change and become more sufficient in design making. Advance technologies are forcing architects to become closely engaged in digital fabrication and construction, if they were to see their projects realised. an undergoing drastic changes in technological tools, William J Mitchell's article, “Design Worlds and Fabrication Machines”, he discusses the opportunities of using CAD as a future of designing complex organic forms. He discuss deeply on the power of modern technologies allowing architect to constantaneously calculate a near perfect design solution whereas this was seen unmanageable in the pre-Renaissance period. Reference Kolarevic, B. (2003). Information Master Builders. Architecture in the digital age : design and manufacturing. B. Kolarevic. New York, NY, Spon Press: 55-62 Mitchell, W. (2003). Design Worlds and Fabrication Machines. Architecture in the digital age : design and manufacturing. B. Kolarevic. New York, NY, Spon Press: 73-80. Sheil, B. (2005). "Transgression from drawing to making." Arq : Architectural Research Quarterly 9(1): 20-32.