Over the years, steel has remained the key material in industries due to low cost, flexibility, durability, recyclability, formability characteristics and structure performance. Particularly, automobile and aircraft manufacturers are taking advantage of digital fabrication in the production process to design different parts using steel properties, whereas, in the construction industry, the steel fabrication and design stagnated since the 60s.
This seminar explores the relationship between digital design and digital fabrication, investigating computer aided manufacturing (CAM) as a dynamic design process. It examines the potential of integration of digital fabrication in the design process, but to use it as an integral part of the design process, where the final geometry is not simulated or pre-determined in the digital realm before materialization. This seminar aims to use computer aided manufacturing for architectural design in a creative and effective way, utilizing their full potential to enrich, inspire and transform architectural design processes.
As exploration, the seminar provides a series of research and design experiments which develop a new synergy between digital design process, fabrication process, materiality. It suggests three main exploratory research studies including Investigation of a project, research cutting edge steel manufacturing techniques in other applications, and utilization of the project’s fabrication with new technique in order to redesign or rethink.
The first step of investigation is studying the relationship or influence of the geometry, fabrication process and structure system of a preference project. It also develops an understanding of taxonomy of building system within analytical approach. The second step is an investigation of emergent steel manufacturing techniques in other industries. This attempt entails an overview of the materials’ basic properties, limitations and capabilities of the fabrication process which, in turn, can inform the integration’s potential of digital fabrication within design process. Subsequently, developing a new design process through a synergy between the studies could draw inspiration to rethink and rediscover the project and bring a new language of aesthetic.
