THE READINGS 1 2 + SKETCHES

WEEK 1
Upon looking through Architecture in the digital age : design and manufacturing, The relationship between architecture and construction is explored, Specifically speaking, under the section: Information Master Builders written by Branko Kolarevic. The relationship between architecture and construction has gone through an interesting evolution. Architects today are known for handling the design and drawings of buildings and normally don't involve themselves with construction, in fact, The American Institutes of Architects (AIA) state that "The architect will not have control over or charge of and will not be responsible for construction means, methods, techniques, sequences, or procedures.". This disassociation was believed to be a result of architects developing ways to communicate designs to builders without their presence, i.e. the development of perspective and orthographic drawings during the renaissance period. It is interesting to note that architects and builders were completely synonymous not long before this. The disassociation is also a topic that is brought up in Architectural models: material, intellectual, spiritual by Bradley Starkey, where he discusses Robin Evans' views on how architects do not work directly with the object they're designing, like a painter or sculptor, but work towards it. Architecture soon started to regain the involvement in fabrication through digital terms, mirroring what is being done in the shipbuilding industry where the designer and builder are one legal entity, no design externalisation is necessary. An interesting point is brought up when it is mentioned that drawings are completely eliminated in shipyards and boatyards as a three dimensional model is used instead through the stages of design and construction. The power that architects can now wield with digital processes is discussed in the section Design Worlds and Fabrication Machines by William j. Mitchell. Mitchell begins with how a generic office building can be defined by a simple algorithm that is repeated, essentially providing it little information and getting a lot more in return. With the great processing power that is available in this digital age, comes with great design freedom but at the cost of an increased amount of parameters to deal with and a potentially reduced efficiency.

readings:

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.

Starkey, B. (2005). "Architectural models: material, intellectual, spiritual." Arq : Architectural Research Quarterly 9(3-4): 265-272.

SKETCHES


WEEK 2

Fabian Scheurer's Materialising complexity is introduced with a question as to the origins of designtoproduction. Scheurer explains the problems that were encountered when Splines and Non-uniform Rational B-Spline Surfaces (NURBS) were introduced to the CAD programs designers used around the 1950s. This produced "blobby" designs that designers liked but were "expensive!" and/or "difficult!" due to the lack of identical and repeating orthogonal elements these designs required. This caused architects such as Arnold Walz, who were "Lazy but smart architects", to create drawing algorithms rather than numerous drawings of slight variance by hand or mouse. These algorithms used defining inputs to produce drawings or 3d models. This is now known as parametric modelling.  Although this condensed the amount of drawings that were needed, it caused problems such as knowing to program in the first place, and having to create a common algorithm that solved all of the problems that was difficult to solve one initially. These challenges prompted by parametric modelling are outweighed by the benefits it provides. Scheurer than explains how parametric modelling would be useless with digital fabrication tools that enable the production of many variations of components at a price close to mass production of a single component. This concept of algorithms, or codes/rules to solve design problems, can be seen in nature. Discussed in Kevin Klinger's Relations: Information exchange in designing and making architecture, "The ancient Greeks translated codified geometry into fundamental principles that could be applied as universal solutions for design strategies", with the most obvious example of this being the golden ration, which is found abundantly throughout nature.

The connection of designing and fabrication that designtoproduction offers is also discussed through Branko kolarevic's Information master builders. The ability of working directly from 3d CAD models because of CNC fabrication methods have enabled designers to do more than just drawings. This method no longer relies on manufacturing and designing having to be externalised, unifying the two processes.

readings:

Scheurer, F. (2014). Materialising Complexity. Theories of the digital in architecture. R. Oxman and R. Oxman: 287-291.

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: 26-36.

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