Digital fabrication

I N T R O D U C T I O N

SHoP Architects, Flotsam and Jetsam, Miami, 2016 Š Robin Hill

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

SHoP Architects, Flotsam and Jetsam, Miami, 2016 Š Robin Hill

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M A N I F E S T O S

ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2014-15, Stuttgart, Germany, 2015 © ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart

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M A N I F E S T O S

ICD/ITKE Research Pavilion 2014-15, Stuttgart, Germany, 2015 © ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart

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Zaha Hadid for United Nude, Nova 3D Printed Shoe, 2014

Zaha Hadid for United Nude, Nova 3D Printed Shoe, 2014

ELEGANCE IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL TECHNIQUE WHY ELEGANCE? Ali Rahim / Contemporary Architecture Practice

Beyond the austerities of digital technique, elegance concerns refinement, precision and formal opulence. Elegance integrates an aesthetic desire, unleashing a visual intelligence pertinent for all design fields at all scales.

The concept of elegance has the ability to push the discourse of contemporary architecture forward, by accepting that complex architectural compositions require an accompanying visual aesthetic as sophisticated as the current techniques used to generate form.

Elegance mediates and enables complexity. A tightly controlled, precise refinement in technique is required to mold transformative surfaces that incorporate distinctly different topological features. The results are potentially chaotic. Negotiating and restraining the visual opulence of these compositions is an operation that entails elegance.

The works and works-in-progress presented here probe the concept of elegance. They display a simultaneous maturation of digital and material practice: but beyond this refined mastery of technique, these designs move towards an integration of an aesthetic desire, that we believe yields elegant results.

Digital Tools, Elegant Forms We are very interested in elegance that has arisen from the use of relational equations and scripting mediated by digital techniques. This includes subdivision surfaces and NURBS modeling, tools that incorporate the most advanced results of experimentation in digital design.

As a premise for our investigation, we believe that progressive digital techniques are pivotal to moving forward in the field of architecture. But often taken for granted are the design research, mastery of techniques and sheer talent required to produce the most sophisticated of contemporary projects enabled by digital techniques.

Elegance confronts this shortcoming in critical discourse by arguing that the mastery of techniques, whether in design, production or both, does not necessarily yield great

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ELEGANCE IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL TECHNIQUE WHY ELEGANCE? Ali Rahim / Contemporary Architecture Practice

Beyond the austerities of digital technique, elegance concerns refinement, precision and formal opulence. Elegance integrates an aesthetic desire, unleashing a visual intelligence pertinent for all design fields at all scales.

The concept of elegance has the ability to push the discourse of contemporary architecture forward, by accepting that complex architectural compositions require an accompanying visual aesthetic as sophisticated as the current techniques used to generate form.

Elegance mediates and enables complexity. A tightly controlled, precise refinement in technique is required to mold transformative surfaces that incorporate distinctly different topological features. The results are potentially chaotic. Negotiating and restraining the visual opulence of these compositions is an operation that entails elegance.

The works and works-in-progress presented here probe the concept of elegance. They display a simultaneous maturation of digital and material practice: but beyond this refined mastery of technique, these designs move towards an integration of an aesthetic desire, that we believe yields elegant results.

Digital Tools, Elegant Forms We are very interested in elegance that has arisen from the use of relational equations and scripting mediated by digital techniques. This includes subdivision surfaces and NURBS modeling, tools that incorporate the most advanced results of experimentation in digital design.

As a premise for our investigation, we believe that progressive digital techniques are pivotal to moving forward in the field of architecture. But often taken for granted are the design research, mastery of techniques and sheer talent required to produce the most sophisticated of contemporary projects enabled by digital techniques.

Elegance confronts this shortcoming in critical discourse by arguing that the mastery of techniques, whether in design, production or both, does not necessarily yield great

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ICD/ITKE Stuttgart, Elytra Filament Pavilion, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2016 © NAARO

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ICD/ITKE Stuttgart, Elytra Filament Pavilion, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2016 © NAARO

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3D PRINTING IN SPACE Neil Leach / Tongji University, FIU

3D printing has begun to revolutionize all aspects of design on Earth. Much of the contents of our homes, our clothes, shoes and furniture are now being 3D printed Even the home itself. But what about 3D printing in Space? What impact might the technique have on the space industry? We could perhaps identify three distinct areas: the construction of space structures, fabrication of spare parts and preparation of food. In each case, 3D printing offers potential advantages. From an architectural perspective, however, the construction of structures is clearly the most significant and one of the reasons for this is cost. It is simply too expensive to transport building materials from Earth. For example, it could cost up to $2 million to transport an ordinary brick to the Moon. Safety is another factor. The use of 3D-printed fabrication technologies would allow habitats and infrastructure to be constructed by robots ahead of human presence, reducing the risk of radiation exposure for construction workers.

Given the cost of delivering materials to space, both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) pursue a policy of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), which in plain language means making the most of materials available on site. In terms of printing on the Moon, the natural choice of construction material is lunar regolith, the fine, powdery, graphite-like substance that coats its surface. Likewise, Mars has Martian regolith, which is rich in iron deposits that could also be mined.1 Printing on the Moon poses a number of obvious problems. Firstly, the Moon is subject to an extreme range of temperatures, varying from 123˚C (253˚F) during the day to –233˚C (–387˚F) at night. Moreover, there is a significant temperature difference between stark Enrico Dini, Foster + Partners, Alta SpA and the Laboratorio di Robotica Percettiva (PERCRO)/ Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, D-Shape, 2012 Structure 3D printed using D-Shape technology.

daylight and shadow. These can cause problems in terms of curing and other construction processes. Secondly, the length of a lunar day—approximately 14 times the length of a terrestrial day—means that there will be significant periods with no sunlight, which is inconvenient if solar power is to be the primary source of energy. 2 Thirdly, there are other issues such as the problems of operating in a vacuum, and the challenges presented by meteorites, radiation and light intensity, which complicate matters still further. Fourthly, it is still not clear how much water, if any, exists on the Moon. And finally, any robotic system will need to be 100 percent reliable if it is to operate without a robust maintenance support system.

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3D PRINTING IN SPACE Neil Leach / Tongji University, FIU

3D printing has begun to revolutionize all aspects of design on Earth. Much of the contents of our homes, our clothes, shoes and furniture are now being 3D printed Even the home itself. But what about 3D printing in Space? What impact might the technique have on the space industry? We could perhaps identify three distinct areas: the construction of space structures, fabrication of spare parts and preparation of food. In each case, 3D printing offers potential advantages. From an architectural perspective, however, the construction of structures is clearly the most significant and one of the reasons for this is cost. It is simply too expensive to transport building materials from Earth. For example, it could cost up to $2 million to transport an ordinary brick to the Moon. Safety is another factor. The use of 3D-printed fabrication technologies would allow habitats and infrastructure to be constructed by robots ahead of human presence, reducing the risk of radiation exposure for construction workers.

Given the cost of delivering materials to space, both NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) pursue a policy of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), which in plain language means making the most of materials available on site. In terms of printing on the Moon, the natural choice of construction material is lunar regolith, the fine, powdery, graphite-like substance that coats its surface. Likewise, Mars has Martian regolith, which is rich in iron deposits that could also be mined.1 Printing on the Moon poses a number of obvious problems. Firstly, the Moon is subject to an extreme range of temperatures, varying from 123˚C (253˚F) during the day to –233˚C (–387˚F) at night. Moreover, there is a significant temperature difference between stark Enrico Dini, Foster + Partners, Alta SpA and the Laboratorio di Robotica Percettiva (PERCRO)/ Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, D-Shape, 2012 Structure 3D printed using D-Shape technology.

daylight and shadow. These can cause problems in terms of curing and other construction processes. Secondly, the length of a lunar day—approximately 14 times the length of a terrestrial day—means that there will be significant periods with no sunlight, which is inconvenient if solar power is to be the primary source of energy. 2 Thirdly, there are other issues such as the problems of operating in a vacuum, and the challenges presented by meteorites, radiation and light intensity, which complicate matters still further. Fourthly, it is still not clear how much water, if any, exists on the Moon. And finally, any robotic system will need to be 100 percent reliable if it is to operate without a robust maintenance support system.

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BIAD, Phoenix International Media Center, Beijing, 2014

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BIAD, Phoenix International Media Center, Beijing, 2014

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MESH STATE Zhang Zhoujie Digital Lab

Zhang Zhoujie Digital Laboratory is dedicated to exploring new ways of creating form, combining traditional analogue techniques with the latest digital fabrication processes.

The triangulation project explores the relationships and interactions of faceted triangular surfaces in the creation of beautiful objects, following the principles of the lab. The objects are selected from a range of hundreds of experimental objects. These objects are generated in an evolutionary way with families of objects sharing parents, grandparents and relatives.

This creates a family tree of objects, with the characteristics of different elements following through the family line like DNA. The objects begin life as a flat mesh of interconnected triangles. Depending on the original shape of the mesh different typologies are generated.

For example, the triangle has its own family line and generates a stool. The square generates the chair and table. The digital laboratory offers the possibility of creating individual customized chairs by taking key measurements from the customer. This is made possible by a specially developed measuring device. By using hundreds of sensors embedded into a measuring apparatus the shape of the client can be directly imported into the digital model.

When the object is generated it will be formed to meet this shape without intervention or input. This generates almost automatically the individual object. Currently this technology is in development and the chairs shown are based on the designer’s personal measurements, recorded using this process.

The fabrication process begins life by preparing the digital model of the chair for birth into the real world. The digital output of the 3D model is turned into a 2D layout of the individual triangles which generate the data to be sent to the laser cutter.

The shapes are then laser-cut from the base material (stainless-steel or titanium). Once cut the material is given a precise set of angle guides for each of the different contact angles which are present on the chair. These are then used to bend the individual metal elements into the correct alignment based on an angle map, also created from the 2D layout.

Mesh Waterfall From ripples to waves, Mesh digital language is good at simulating the state of a stream, and can present the vivid flow of

The bending process is carried out meticulously by hand and optically checked using the

waves. The focus of this research is on the flow of water between two points. The computer automatically generates various

guides. Once the bending is complete the contact points are fixed in place using a special

points of high and low, and finally creates a vivid water fall installation, hanging in space, providing different angles, allowing the viewer to feel the complicated three dimensional details formed from Mesh.

treatment on the underside surface of the chair. This process is then repeated for all the individual segments of the chair as cut by the laser cutter. The individual segments are

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MESH STATE Zhang Zhoujie Digital Lab

Zhang Zhoujie Digital Laboratory is dedicated to exploring new ways of creating form, combining traditional analogue techniques with the latest digital fabrication processes.

The triangulation project explores the relationships and interactions of faceted triangular surfaces in the creation of beautiful objects, following the principles of the lab. The objects are selected from a range of hundreds of experimental objects. These objects are generated in an evolutionary way with families of objects sharing parents, grandparents and relatives.

This creates a family tree of objects, with the characteristics of different elements following through the family line like DNA. The objects begin life as a flat mesh of interconnected triangles. Depending on the original shape of the mesh different typologies are generated.

For example, the triangle has its own family line and generates a stool. The square generates the chair and table. The digital laboratory offers the possibility of creating individual customized chairs by taking key measurements from the customer. This is made possible by a specially developed measuring device. By using hundreds of sensors embedded into a measuring apparatus the shape of the client can be directly imported into the digital model.

When the object is generated it will be formed to meet this shape without intervention or input. This generates almost automatically the individual object. Currently this technology is in development and the chairs shown are based on the designer’s personal measurements, recorded using this process.

The fabrication process begins life by preparing the digital model of the chair for birth into the real world. The digital output of the 3D model is turned into a 2D layout of the individual triangles which generate the data to be sent to the laser cutter.

The shapes are then laser-cut from the base material (stainless-steel or titanium). Once cut the material is given a precise set of angle guides for each of the different contact angles which are present on the chair. These are then used to bend the individual metal elements into the correct alignment based on an angle map, also created from the 2D layout.

Mesh Waterfall From ripples to waves, Mesh digital language is good at simulating the state of a stream, and can present the vivid flow of

The bending process is carried out meticulously by hand and optically checked using the

waves. The focus of this research is on the flow of water between two points. The computer automatically generates various

guides. Once the bending is complete the contact points are fixed in place using a special

points of high and low, and finally creates a vivid water fall installation, hanging in space, providing different angles, allowing the viewer to feel the complicated three dimensional details formed from Mesh.

treatment on the underside surface of the chair. This process is then repeated for all the individual segments of the chair as cut by the laser cutter. The individual segments are

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