Fabrication & Creative Processes_Reflective Essay

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FABRICATIONS & CREATIVE PROCESSES | SEMESTER 2, 2020 | SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY Amy Rodda | Master of Architecture & Urban Design - Unit Convenor: Gergana Rusenova | Tutor: Sascha Bohnenberger

“Digital technology has set the scene for entirely new ways in which people can collaborate across geographical boundaries and professional delineations. Open-source software,

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makerspaces, and platforms for shared approaches and collaborative projects have flourished with the Internet, and the ‘single author’ and intellectual property paradigms of the 20th century are being creatively reimagined.”

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- Michael, S., 2020

Architecture does not seem to have kept up with the technological advancements in related disciplines [Iwamoto, L., 2009, p. 006]. As a result, when I was introduced to simulation development I was amazed at not only the technology itself but the possibilities it unlocked.

These emerging technologies allow for an infinite array of properties to be applied to any one architectural element. When aggregated across design elements of a composition, the impact on

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Architecture describes the design of space, the objects that encapsulate and surround that space, and the systemic components that make up the spatial elements of that space and the spaces surrounding that space [Ching, F. D. K., 2007, pp. 96-113; 171-173]. It is something that can only be created successfully by those who are skilled in its understandings and processes. As designers the challenge is to design these compositions, through iterative compositions, testing, and pragmatic and creative processes; through prototyping [Mackenzie, D., 2016; Georgiev, G., Milara, I. S., Ferreira, D., 2017, p. S3660-3661; Chudolij, N., 2019]. And as architecture is part of a design process, it should progress with the times. The future of iterative design processes and creative prototyping is digital fabrication [McMeel, D., 2017, pp. 112-113].

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ESSAY:

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This is due to the way in which parametric design works. Unlike traditional design constraints, parametric design is not based on fixed metric quantities but rather on a consistent network of relationships between individual components [Mackenzie, D., 2016]. A designer can enter a set of parameters into the modelling software and the software will arrange the designed form according to those rules, with an infinite number of potentials if any one of the components is altered.

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Through streamlining parametric design, digital fabrication allows for other elements within the design process [refinement] to be focused on, and a greater range of design possibilities to amalgamate [Knippers, J., 2017, p. 156] - e.g. Wikihouse’s customisable digitally-manufactured building systems [Michael, S. 2020]. It allows architects to revisit what it means to be a master craftsman by allowing designers to develop designs as a systemic whole, thus allowing us to challenge cultural, technological, economical, and historical boundaries that previously may not have been fully challenged [Burry, J. et al., 2020, p. 266; 272-275; Thor Architects, 2017].

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the relationship between design elements and thus the whole design itself is tremendous and dramatically expands the architectural possibilities that can be built [Iwamoto, L., 2009, p. 008; Alqattan, E., Yan, W., Galanter, P., pp. 147-148; 155-156].

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» Figure 1 | Brick Wall System

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In addition to this, new scripting capabilities, as a result of using scripting programs such as Python, have meant that algorithmic design processes have followed suit [Menges, A., Baharlou, E., 2014; AUEssays, 2018]. This means that we as designers can cultivate complex forms, processes, and systems from simple methods by controlling specific rules [Caetano, I., Santos, L., Leitao, A., 2020 pp. 293-295] - such as can be seen in Mengyi Fan and Lefevre Marguerite’s ENCODED MATTER, GSAPP 2011 [Fan, M., Marguerite, L., 2011].

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For instance, if we look at the bricks we used this semester, the bricks may aggregate into different compositions, but they were all connected using the same bond: the same set of principles/rules [Temporary Autonomous Architect, 2020; Berona, A., Rodda, A., 2020]. If we made a changes to a single element at the same time as controlling other components within the same system, we were able to change the shape and size of the brick [1], the connection rules between two bricks [2], the support constraints for which the system accumulates from [3], or the overall form’s volumetric parameters [4] – all without necessarily changing the system as a whole (See Figure 1) [Berona, A., Rodda, A., 2020].

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As designers within the architectural discipline, we think spatially; we create and fabricate through thinking of interstitial relationships, elemental connections, and systemic wholes [Iwamoto, L., 2009, p. 005; National Research Council 2006, pp. 100-101]. We tend not think parametrically or algorithmically [Zarei, Y., 2012, p. 89; Borson, B., 2015; Fisher, S., 2015]. By allowing technologies to simulate parametric and algorithmic thinking for us, we can focus on creative design processes, and not only designing as architects but as master craftsman.

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In this way we can use the new parametric and algorithmic design processes to investigate fundamental architectural principles, such as form versus function, and investigate new design possibilities that emerge due to these new design processes [Archi Studio, 2020].

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REFERENCES: • Al-Qattan, E., Yan, W., Galanter, P., 2017, ESTABLISHING PARAMETRIC RELATIONSHIPS FOR DESIGN OBJECTS THROUGH TANGIBLE INTERACTION, CumInCAD, [online], Available: http://papers.cumincad. org/data/works/att/caadria2017_035.pdf • Archi Studio, 2020, Architectural Design in Parametric and Algorithm Form, [online], Available: https:// www.thearchistudio.com/services/architectural-design-in-parametric-and-algorithm-form/

• Berona, A., Rodda, A., 2020, per. comm.

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• AUEssays, 2018, Parametric and Algorithmic Design: Faux Forms?, [online], Available: https://www. auessays.com/essays/architecture/parametric-and-algorithmic-design.php

• Borson, B., 2015, Architecture and Math, Life of an Architect, [online], Available: https://www. lifeofanarchitect.com/architecture-and-math/ • Caetano, I., Santos, L., Leitão, A., 2020, Computational design in architecture: Defining parametric, generative, andalgorithmic design, Vol. 9., no. 2, Frontier of Architectural Research, [online], Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095263520300029?via%3Dihub

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• Burry, J., Sabin, J., Sheil, B., Skavara, M., 2020, FABRICATE 2020: MAKING RESILIENT ARCHITECTURE, UCL Press, [online], Available: doi:10.2307/j.ctv13xpsvw

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• Ching, F. D. K., 2007, Architecture: Form, Space, and Order, 3rd edn, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey, pp. 96-113; 171-173 • Chudolij, N., 2019, THE PROCESS OF CREATIVE ITERATION, America House Kyiv, [online], Available: https://www.americahousekyiv.org/ah-blog/2019/11/6/the-process-of-creative-iteration • Di Battista, V., 2006, Towards a Systemic Approach to Architecture, Minati G., Pessa E., Abram M. (edn) Systemics of Emergence: Research and Development. Springer, Boston, [online], Available: https://link. springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F0-387-28898-8_27

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• Fan, M., Marguerite, L., 2011, EMF Waves, Algorithmic Design, [online], Available: http://code. algorithmicdesign.net/filter/python/EMF-Waves

• Georgiev, G. V., Milara, I. S., Ferreira, D., 2017, A Framework for Capturing Creativity in Digital Fabrication, The Design Journal, [online], Available: http://jultika.oulu.fi/files/nbnfi-fe201710098936.pdf • Iwamoto, L., 2009, Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, pp. 004-079

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• Fisher, S., 2015, Philosophy of Architecture, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, [online], Available: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/architecture/

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• Knippers, J., 2017, The Limits of Simulation: Towards a New Culture of Architectural Engineering, Vol. 1., no.2 , Technology|Architecture + Design, pp. 155-162, [online], Available: https://doi.org/10.1080/2475144 8.2017.1354610 • Mackenzie, D., 2016, Parametric + algorythmic design, ArchitectureNOW, [online], Available: https:// architecturenow.co.nz/articles/parametric-algorithmic-design/ • Menges, A., Baharlou, E., 2014, Advanced Algorithmic Design: Python Scripting in Grasshopper, University of Stuttgart, [online], Available: https://www.icd.uni-stuttgart.de/teaching/seminars/advanced-algorithmicdesign-python-scripting-in-grasshopper/

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• Michael, S., 2020, Atlas of Digital Architecture, Birkhäuser, [online], Available: https://www. atlasofdigitalarchitecture.com/24/

• National Research Council, 2006, Learning to Think Spatially, The National Academies Press. Washington DC, pp. 100-101, [online], Available: https://www.nap.edu/read/11019/chapter/6 • Rybczynski, W., 2013, Parametric Design: What’s Gotten Lost Amid the Algorithms, Architect: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects, [online], Available: https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/ parametric-design-whats-gotten-lost-amid-the-algorithms_o

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• McNeel, D., 2017, Material Control: Reflections on the social and material practices of digital fabrication, Vol. 15., Design Philosophy Papers, pp. 103-117, [online], Available: http://www. thestudioattheedgeoftheworld.com/uploads/4/7/4/0/47403357/03materialcntrldigitalfabrication.pdf

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• Thor Architects, 2017, EMERGENT DESIGN: 8 REASONS WHY PARAMETRIC DESIGN IS CHANGING ARCHITECTURE, [online], Available: https://www.thorarchitects.com/parametric-design-is-changingarchitecture/

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• Zarei, Y., 2012, The Challenges of Parametric Design in Architecture Today: Mapping the Design Practice, University of Manchester, Parametric Architecture, [online], Available: https://parametric-architecture.com/ wp-content/uploads/2018/11/The-Challenges-of-Parametric-Design-in-Architecture-Today.pdf