Neil Gershenfeld, the director of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT talks about his new project 'Fab Labs' at the TED conference. Fab Labs is a program to set up fabrication laboratories in remote areas, giving the community a way to make the things they imagine. It's basically a program to empower designers all over the world.
In the lecture he argues that fabrication is going through a similar period of invention the way that computers did in the 60's. Computer research really took off when the size got small enough to be able to be used by small work groups of five to ten people. Although still clumsy and gigantic by modern standards Gershenfeld argues that this decentralized invention model allowed for computers to really advance. No longer did invention need to come from a big corporation with a massive R&D budget. The Fab labs work in similar ways by bringing current digital fabrication equipment such as water jet machines, laser cutters and 3d printers to the people. It's safe to assume that for Gershenfeld every future household will have fabricating tools the same way they currently have the personal computer.
Architects being at the front of such a push should incorporate such tools into their workflow. This forces designers to think of fabrication immediately working at full scale and themselves becoming an integral part of the construction process.
Undoubtedly there is group in academia that pushes in this direction but there is also a large number of architects that are designing completely divorced from fabrication and construction processes. This is not limited to wild digital designs, even offices that are involved in building fairly conventional buildings often limit their influence to organization and aesthetics. As Timberlake writes in 'refabricating architecture' the success of mass production over the last century has pushed architects from being designers of buildings into the selector of products. In such a model architects are acting like savvy consumers, picking certain products over others because of their performance, looks, or price. This divorce isn't limited to the high tech products, even simple construction systems such as partition wall or mechanical systems are left to the contractor to decide on site. Architects will say such systems are standard and a waste of time to address. But by failing to address such systems architects only have control of superficial surface treatments. Formal geometry no longer is a result of construction processes and many times goes against it. Neil Denari's smooth planes are one case in point, their typical drywall-stick member construction are completely defied and hidden to produce the final effect.
Buildings should be smartly designed and well constructed. The quality of the product should matter to the architect.
a virtual thesis
Welcome Friend+++++
This is a collection of thoughts on an Architectural Thesis in progress.+++++++ Please comment, all input in any form is sincerely appreciated.
This thesis on architecture is about defining an architectural practice, one that is personal and unique through the idea of Code.
For organizational purposes it is divided into three basic categories; Aesthetics, Economics, and Logistics. These three areas are what I see as the basic driving factors of any architecture. To further define these areas;
----- Aesthetics deal with sensibility and inspiration. It is the part of architecture that makes one feel. It is about space, materiality and aspects of architecture that require the senses to perceive. In a world without consequences or constraints this may be all that's required to make architecture. Aesthetic code can be seen as the relationships between qualities and parts, between spaces and things.
----- Economics are the limitations and opportunities from society that impact building and working. It includes financial considerations, safety, wealth distribution, property rights, and sustainable design. Codes such as the building code are rules that restrict certain designs while encouraging others.
------Logistics deal with process and technique in creation of both the design and the building. It is about organization and management. It is about the tools and the ways in which architects manipulate them to produce results. Logistic code is about the way in which computers have an increasing role in dealing with these aspects such as the way in which programming will change design.
- aesthetics (2)
- Economics (2)
- Logistics (3)
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