The craft, the digtal and the analogue by Tomas Santacruz

THE CRAFT, THE DIGITAL & THE ANALOGUE

Tomas Santacruz

RC6

report tutor: David Scott tutors: Daniel Widrig Stefan Bassing Soomeen Hahm

M.Arch Graduate Architectural Design The Bartlett School of Architecture University College London

2013-2014

ABSTRACT The digital domain is no longer a matter of computational analysis. Art and Design are now part of this realm of codes and form. The digital is discussed towards a formal vs. function approach, ultimately resulting in the importance of the craft becoming relevant in whether the understanding of the process of making is or not, part of the digital domain. This report tries to understand if the previous architectural movements in history can be interpreted as digital. Is it the process of fabrications what makes it digital or is the formal approach of continuity what leads to a complex understanding of the Gothic as a digital design? The functionalism or formalism approach of history will be used to radically impose the idea of having old elements of architecture as part of the digital world and imply the importance of constructability when talking about them.

INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION

page 11

2. LARS SPUYBROEK & TEXTILE TECTONICS

page 14

3. WAY OF MAKING

page 15

4. TECKNIT

page 23

5. PHYSICAL FABRICATION

page 35

6. FUSION

page 36

6. CONCLUSION

page 43

7. REFERENCES

page 47

INTRODUCTION

ref. 1 Braided Column TecKnit Increased resolution

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION The digital domain has given the world of architecture

to the Gothic the design language uses these elements to

several new possibilities when experimenting with form

evolve and produce space, and also to relate in a sense

and space. This new way of design has become a tool from

of the production rather than the actual theoretical

which many have developed amazing and really different

conception of it.

approaches towards the conventional way of interpreting three-dimensional proposals as well as an undeniable

Crafting

connection to the more organic natural forms of nature.

understanding, whereas the Gothic architecture is

and

making

become

key

parts

this

perceived as purely form rather than function. The Still what makes the digital design Digital; can also be

conception of continuity is challenged by the way of

interpreted as a new way of making. It is in this new realm

making and it slightly moves away from the abstract form

of fabrication where true innovation happens and where

finding approach of infinite folding Gothic vaults and

the conceptions of the digital world may start to resemble

arches.

those in the architectural movements of the past, such as the Gothic and the classic architecture.

Now, these series of ideas bring forward the thought of how the design, the algorithmic way of expressing

As Gothic architecture becomes part of a territory of

the Gothic, could be digital. Not just referring to the

repetition and co-dependency, the TecKnic project will

conception but more towards its constructability, this

become part of a journey that explores the crafting

idea is what establishes the radical questions. Is the way

technique of knitting and braiding to develop an

of assembling architecture in the XII and XIII centuries, in

architectural language that results in the creations of

fact a digital process of making? And is the actual process

complex and interesting systems of geometry. Very similar

of making what really makes them digital?

ref. 2 Gloucester Cathedral England

LARS SPUYBROEK & TEXTILE TECTONICS

LARS SPUYBROEK & TEXTILE TECTONICS Textile tectonics is the second book of Lars Spuybroek’s Research and Design series. It’s based on a series of argumentative explanations that try to establish a direct

ref. 3 Son-o house NOX Exterior bird eye view

link between the Gothic architecture and the digital design of today. His argument is based in the way this architectural movement was conceived (by its “sequential” form finding) and consequently its dependency on a systematic language that makes it operate in a structural level. Lars Spuybroek is a renowned Dutch architect, artist and writer. He is known for his work with NOX, an architectural practice that he runs and whose work has been exhibit in biennales and museum on multiple occasions. He has several published books regarding his ideas of the field of continuity. At the same time he heavily criticises the current era of archistars, calling the 21ist century “a time of cute architecture” . He states that nowadays there is no debate or thought in creativity and so we face a time where pure formalism overtakes the abundant market of new buildings. Strongly influenced by Frei Otto and completely separating

himself

from

famous

Pritzker

prizes,

Spuybroek uses well-known architectural historians and philosophers to explain his thesis of Gothic deign being a digital movement because of it form and spatial perception. Furthermore, he uses his ideas to reconsider old architectural problems using new modern day instruments. And so in his own way, he tries to explain the ideas of continuity as the non-traditional architecture of the century. By doing so he labels it as a process through which organic shapes are made truly from the core of the project rather than just being “rounded modernism and rounded deconstructivism” .

Lars Spuybroek, Textile Tectonics. An Interview with Lars Spuybroek. 2006,

ref. 4 Son-o house NOX Interior photograph

WAY OF MAKING

Is it however, naïve to think about these kind of

First of all it is important to understand what does digital

debatable ideas as purely black and white approaches.

mean. Going back to Spuybroek he defines the digital

This is where the debate begins when speaking about

as “a totally scholastic, numerical, clickety-clack way of

the Gothic being perceived as digital, and so the way of

thinking” . Meaning in some way that it is a schematic

making leading the architectural movement towards that

process that leads to an orderly, repetitive design.

direction. The grey scale in between pure digital and pure analogue breaks up into functional ways of perception.

Digital processes always take into account this idea

The structural behaviours and its tectonics do create

of continuity or repetition. But the approach towards

the sensation of unfolding structures that the form itself

prototyping is what changes the actual way of

conceives as a whole.

constructability. The functionality of the digital systems may be argued if the physical testing is non-existing and

This is why it becomes very important to state that

if the translation from the computer into the real world in

Spuybroek based his argument of Textile Tectonics on

not a complete success.

John Ruskin’s The nature of Gothic, and his description of it, to elaborate his writing. Chapters of savageness,

Nevertheless, the approach towards the Gothic being

changefulness, rigidity and grotesqueness, that Ruskin

digital comes possibly not only from the awareness

used to explain the Gothic, are in fact, the main path

of what is seen but more from how it is perceived. In

through which the argument evolves on. And by doing

other words the fact that these moments are part of a

so, the functionality and aesthetics of the Gothic, become

continuous thread (speaking about the structural ribs

part of, what he states to be, a digital world.

of cathedrals) presumably is what makes them feel unfolded, continuous and by themselves digital.

But his approach in the book never considers the making path of the Gothic. He purely considers formalistic ideas

With this idea in mind, Continuity becomes an important

that disregard to a certain levels the actual building

concept in the notion of repetition of elements, and

process and the incredible functional aspects that the

what correlate with the creation of a final geometry. It

Gothic has as a revolutionary technical way of structural

is by itself what the human eye understands as a whole

design.

and what untrained knowledge interprets as singular elements.

WAY OF MAKING

The way the vaults fuse together to become the columns to create a singular type of tubular element its what

So why is the nature of Gothic architecture and eventually is why is the nature of Gothic architecture and eventually its functionality and tectonics, part of a digital world?

Lars Spuybroek, Textile Tectonics. An Interview with Lars Spuybroek. 2006,

makes the argument of continuity comprehensible. It is however really important to see how the hand crafted pieces were created and originally conceived. Brick upon brick that creates unified structural system.

Lars Spuybroek, Textile tectonics. 2011

WAY OF MAKING

The question is still. What makes them equivalent to many of Zaha Hadidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s buildings, where the fluidity of the thread creates the actual shape of the form? Nevertheless, and without trying to compare a Pritzker price winner with any of the Gothic designers, his view of digital makes it possible to link both approaches in some theoretical way. It may be as well, what completely separates the Gothic architecture from the Classical period. On numerous occasions the description of Classical architecture has drifted for many theorist as a separate way of making. Although the notion of repetition and correlation are still present in many of the acropolis buildings, the factor of continuity lacks in many of them. So by comparing a series of aggregating bricks and pieces in the classical world the feeling of continuity is broken

ref. 5 Vault Formations King's College Chapel Cambridge

while the tectonic behaviour of the Gothic and the continuous ribs of its design make the form feel endless and interconnected to a sensation of a whole. This kind of argument may in fact drive the understanding of the digital to some sort contradiction. Is it necessary to have continuity for it to be digital? Would many of the projects that use aggregation methods not be digital in that sense? DLA (diffusion limited aggregation) systems and numerous projects that come from the digital world use this kind of method to create form. Geometry exploration through this kind of algorithm has given the digital design a long run through out the decade and incredible projects along the years. All these projects are good examples of how the folding and so the continuity might not be so clearly present, like in the Gothic, but remain digital by their approach.

ref.6 Rose Window Basilica Saint-Denis France

WAY OF MAKING

If you look at the classical buildings, they have certain logic and an order. They multiply this logic towards different outcomes but their proportion and notion of completeness are still there. Like bricks on a wall, the building may be using an aggregation method to create form. It may not have a folding logic behind it but there is a repetition logic that drives the creation of the columns and at the end, the building itself. The golden ratio present in the classic buildings demonstrates the fractal understanding of sequential design that increases scale but maintains proportion. The creation of this system could be as well argued to be digital however the making of it makes it a different story.

ref.7 Golden Ratio Acropolis The Parthenon

Despite these ideas, and a rather presumptuous assumption the thesis may say, that classical architecture is to be another type of digital design. The idea of finite vs. infinity may be what may are trying to describe as digital, as the components or bricks of any aggregation system that will need to have, by logic, an ending to be able to interlock. The way that the author approaches the materiality of the craft is, indeed, a counter argument in the book, a way that may explain his ideas towards his theory, and the link towards this possible division of a finite and infinite digital design. If digital is, in fact, a numerical like pattern behaviour, the process of making may be the way of understanding it more clearly. Spuybroek states that Gothic is â&#x20AC;&#x153; not even really mental but much more material,â&#x20AC;?4 and that â&#x20AC;&#x153;It is a way of thinking

Lars Spuybroek, Textile tectonics. 2011

ref. 8 Golden Ratio Temple of Poseidon Paestum

WAY OF MAKING

akin to the way hands treat matter”5 So it may be possible

the digital world and translates it into a physical, palpable

to say that the digital may come from the craft rather

thing.

than the thinking. Accepting then, that the way of making and the production This kind of explanation may be the key to understanding

methods of the Gothic relate deeply to the understanding

the true nature of Gothic functionality. If the digital is the

of is as a digital type of architecture, endless continuous

way of making, then the expressionist nature of Gothic

forms become part of the understanding of the shape,

may come from the sublime and logical approach of

and so the form in this case can be described as a result

construction. The C-Curve, the J-Curve and the S-Curve

of the function. And also as a result of the technology

of the Gothic become pattern dependant structural

and as an outcome of the tectonic behaviour of the

systems. Its evolution is a way of exploring tectonic

structural systems presented.

possibilities, which are created by their connections to other parts of the system, like a vault or an arch. Without a single element of the pattern, the system will not work and eventually would never be able to be built. In that sense the craft gives its logic to the Gothic, and the digital may actually come from the way of making. Subconsciously the materiality is what gives the rhythms to eventually multiply and grow, furthermore to crate the digital form from the analogue making. The symbiotic relationship between the design and the making is truly what drives the process of a merely craft approach to a more making architectural technique. In the book Emergent Technologies and Design, the concept of material systems are not simply referred to as “the material constituents of a building alone”6 , but rather described, “in a system-theoretical sense, as the reciprocity between materiality, form, structure and space,”7 furthermore it highlights the relationship of “the related process of production and assembly“8 in such way that the process of making definitely inherits part of

Lars Spuybroek, Textile tectonics. 2011

Michael Hensel, Achim Mengers, Mcihael Weinstock. Emergent Tecnologies and Design. 2010 . pg 48

IBID. 2010 . pg 48

TECKNIT

ref.9 Braided column 1 Linear approach resolution increment

TECKNIT

actually producing the design outcomes of the derived braided and knotted systems. It was in that sense, the

Like the Gothic itself the TecKnit project became a like

aspect of material outcome, that the key feature of

the Gothic itself the TecKnit project became a playground

TecKnit directed an important research agenda for the

towards which the approach of the making started to

production methods and the actual material itself for the

be of tremendous importance during the design ideas.

physical manifestation of the designs.

Incredible feedback appeared from the process of manufacture and by doing so it has been allowed to

From yarn, to manila, from fish lines to combine

evolve and grow.

materiality where just many experiments were carried out to find the best possible material for the idea in mind.

It is important then to synthesis the project as an

By limiting its possibilities to the physical domain or by

architectural study based on the research of textiles

exploring more the digital the project developed a better

production methods, like knitting and braiding. This

understanding of the craft.

research has led to the creation a system of geometrically intricate architecture outcomes that like the Gothic

In this perspective, the idea of crafting space and the

approach of continuity relates deeply the making and

design process of knitting pursues a certain kind of logic

the perception of the form.

that comes from an already existing way of making. The project approaches the digital from the fractal process

The investigation lead to an understanding of how

of fragmenting the interlooping of knitting, to braid and

the knitting loops can become structural. Having in

eventually to create much more complex loops.

mind as key references, monocoque structures and

same process comes from the approach Spuybroek gives

semimonocoque structures, the idea of self-supportive

to the Gothic. The knitting is driving the process to create

skins and pattern analysis was used to further develop a

a complex system by evolving the loops into a more

geometrical language.

systematic system.

The

actually

Nonetheless, the most important relation with the project

strengthens the structure, and how pattern variation

comes from the idea that the analogue way of making is

changes the way it behaves, were just some examples

always influenced the digital work, not just by creating

of the digital approach and its relation to the making.

constraints towards design but also by narrowing down

Cataloging combinations and eventually translating

the way the system evolves and further develops and

them into an architectural piece gave the project a good

always taking in consideration itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction and

start and providing good evidence from which the notion

future options.

Understanding

the

interloping,

how

of continuity began to take place. A column design emerged that eventually could have All these ideas drove the research throughout its way of

been replicated into a spatial conception. Described as

making and its own material process; different ways of

a â&#x20AC;&#x153;possible modern Gothicâ&#x20AC;? the initial deigns started to

ref. 10 braided aggregation branching approach resolution increment

ref. 11 Balloon technique bendeabilty

ref. 12 Balloon technique simplicity

TECKNIT

be part of the resemblance to whether the making is or

as part of the craft and vice versa. Same as the Gothic did

is not a digital method of creation. The idea of braiding

when being built. Spuybroek said that language by itself

and knitting was approached as primary concept and it

is “descriptive while coding is inscriptive”9 and affirming

remained throughout the whole research agenda.

that coding isn’t immaterial not only because of its inscriptive nature but because of the misconception that

The extraction of the braiding to further complex ways

coding is an abstract version of the hand drawing design.

of elaborating the language made it possible to use a

This aspect of making is what highlights the radical

fractal approach. The design would translate the knitting

approach of the craft based ideas of Gothic, and what

to the skin of the column, and the braiding, the form

really makes them digital, eventually showing itself in the

and different moments of fusion, to bifurcation and the

TecKnit project as anchor point of a bigger and larger

wrinkle of the geometry. Each time by increasing the

resolution development.

resolution the abstraction of the knitting remained as the primary concept.

The actual shifting from “hand drawing to codescripting”10 is as well a way of seeing how although the

Production wise, on the other hand, it was much more

process has evolved, the core aspect of it remains the

difficult to handle. The arm knitting, used to scale up

same. The TecKnit project follows this logic as it always

the loops, the finger knitting, used to create a medium

tries to create craft based design with real outcomes.

scale loops and the nail and machine knitting used to

This is not trying to compare it with the meticulous

explored for the actual resolution of the craft, where in

aspect of Gothic design but to create a resemblance with

fact not very successful, specially when trying to explore

the crafting aspect of both. As the evolution of design

the materiality the yarn.

might have change, the core aspect of the tools remains the same.

Yarn and plaster then became he most important combination, with the actual resolution of the machine

This is practically visible from the outcomes of the TecKnit

knitting production method. It gave the project the best

project. A second and a third layer were eventually

possible outcomes for the production of the designs.

explored, in other to further evolve the complexity of

However, the quality and “hairiness” appearance of the

the knitting and braiding. First of all, a series of chairs

yarn provided us a messy look that was later overcome

were design to further advance the development of the

with a different quality of thread.

language and also to create and learn from the process of making and the manufacturing of it. From initial braids

Materialisation of the design and the feedback from the

to open endings, the continuous rocking chair became

`physical models are fundamentals towards the evolution

an actual design to test and be built.

of the process. The way of making drives the project into a more tectonic approach while the design reassembles

Carbon fibre was introduced as a possible high tech

the Gothic in terms of continuous threads. Lars Spuybroek, Textile tectonics. 2011 IBID. 2011

The digital is in that sense, as it will always be conceived,

TECKNIT

material for the chair and using the balloon technique the resemblance to the actual design was almost accomplished. However the making results were not very effective, and so the chair lacked stability due to the absence of tension when placing the fibres along the balloons. This was specially seen in the curing process of the resin that popped the mould before being hard enough. This took back the material aspect to reviews material tests and resulted in the cotton yarn and the plaster+resin combination being reconsidered. All this process of making produced a clear idea of the balloons as a great moulding object, as did the already successful cotton+plaster material option. Having in mind, at the same time, that plaster and cotton worked well, some initial prototypes were developed and so TecKnit managed to successfully create a braid. As the balloons bursts after the fabric is dry the complexity of

ref.13 braided chair carbon fibre resolution increment

the form wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t a problem when removing the mould, and so a good process of making was finally achieved. Having all of these good results in mind, a separate process was taking place at the same time. The digital aspect of the craft needed to be explored on another level as the knitting resulted too superficial and lack of volume. Crochet was introduced to escape twodimensional outcomes, giving as a result the crochet lattice and the crochet mesh. The dual research from digital to materiality became the core aspect of TecKnit With these two possibilities the fragmentation process of crochet resulted in deconstructing the designs into components. Series of rows and chains of knots became the bricks for the project and the digital design of TecKnit.

ref.14 rocking chair continuous braid resolution increment

TECKNIT

ref.15 Third prototype Matrix constraints

TECKNIT

Understanding the logic behind it made the project

it is as Spuybroek states, a repetitive scholastic and

much more complex and created a good outcome for

radically inscriptive language in architecture, but with

many architectural archetypes.

an idea of manufacturing behind it. Always keeping in mind the constraints of the material as one of the

The aggregation method was later used to design a

design criterias.

series of components that will create a bricks for a shelter type of space. Taking the ideas, of how crochet can be

Like the Gothic design, the notion of fabrication and

fragmented into finite pieces, is what makes it easier for

continuity was lead by the construction process. The

the construction method or the prototypes. Balloons

actual fabrication processes that lead to the nerve

have a size constrain and so does the components. The

structures of cathedrals became the actual â&#x20AC;&#x153;digitalâ&#x20AC;?

physical feeds the digital and so the digital can explore

parts, and so for the TecKnit project. The fact that the

and evolve much more.

continuity may be found in the combination of pieces could be another way of seeing it. Nonetheless, and

The continuous casting is a very important chapter that

more important, is the way both examples correlate to

starts to link the continuity with the digital approach of

each other towards an approach of craft and production.

the Gothic. Endless sleeves become a metaphor for the Gothic ribs where continuous casting tries to create and

TecKnit project. The fact that the continuity may be

infinite threat of some sort of structural behaviour.

found in the combination of pieces could be another way of seeing it. Non the less, and more important, is

All of this ultimately creates the notion of how materiality

the way both projects correlate to each other towards

is always providing feedback to the project. The craft is

an approach of craft and production.

always giving a path towards a design outcome. Maybe

1. diameter change

twists and braids with two diameter balloons

2. braid

interlooping with higher control

3. knot

knots and braids in higher level of fabrication

TECKNIT

uncasted sleeves

box aggregation allows the uncasted sleeves to be re shape on the next lavel

height

rall

d n

rall

continous casting

endings

smartbox fabrication system

box aggregation

initial and ending control of the overall shape

allows the uncasted sleeves to be re shape on the next lavel

elastic matrix

uncasted sleeves ref.16 fabrication process uncasted Sleeves

initial and ending control of the overall shape

height

elastic matrix loop definition and shape modification

elastic matrix

initial and ending control of the overall shape

continous casting

ref.17 fabrication process TecKnit project

endings

TECKNIT

ref 18 Physical constraints Balloon technique

PHYSICAL FABRICATION

ref 19 proto column braided and knotting system

PHYSICAL FABRICATION

production are disregarded in this idea. The tectonic

PHYSICAL FABRICATION

purposes of the Gothic disappears and the pure formalistic aesthetics remain as the only criteria. The objective of design and the resemblance of the form become cores of a structural understanding of a

The description disregards completely the physical

buildings meaning. The fabrication process is then an

production and structural meaning of the Gothic. The

aspect of physical translation as well as driving criteria for

technology behind it is not mention as driving principles

the actual thinking and the actual design. The repetitive

and the actual physical fabrication is not approached.

formations of co-dependent element in the Gothic are

Vaults connected to each other that appear continuous

truly remarkable pieces of pattern logic.

are in fact fragmented stone pieces carved precisely to show a single element. The load transfer is then done

The rose windows extracted from Robert Billing â&#x20AC;&#x153;the

much more effectively and so the purpose of continuity

power of formâ&#x20AC;? show impressive pattern related

comes truly from the making.

elements of geometry that by different process of multiplication create what for the untrained eye might

Detailed elements of fabrication turn the stone into

look as nature typologies of branching. This is however

bricks and the bricks into space. The relation between

a very interesting geometrical exercise from which the

material and physical testing are what makes the

Gothic designers managed to build proportion and the

elements become continuous. The sole purpose and

visible overall figure.

problematic of the Gothic tectonics resembles the one many structural systems have always tried to deal: Load-

The circles that organize the diverse shapes become

weight and support.

repetitive and co-dependent, they do transform the

manifestations of the windows as what today may seem

The arches and the load distribution of the point arches

to be a parametric design, rational but fundamentally

or ogival arches in combination with the vault system

changing its variables. This is what at the end of the day

allowed architects to gain height and create much taller

may argue the Gothic as a possible digital design.

spaces.

As the core understanding of continuity progresses, the

The

argument of repetition in a strict order validates itself

understanding of the Gothic as a continuous system but

in the sense of perception and feeling of space. The

it purpose and meaning is what mostly drove the design

feeling of correlation remains and the fundamentals of

towards a digital meaning and approach.

rose windows from Rober Billings The power of form

continuous

process

fabrication

led

the

rose windows from Rober Billings The power of form

FUSION Understanding that the notion of continuity might may lead to interpret the Gothic as a period related to the digital domain, the actual process of making may be in fact what drives that theory to a better understanding of the thesis. Continuity however, might be, in many times, related to subjective views. As what I read as continuous might not be understood in the same way by any other person.

Taking several examples of this subjective notion what a

can be translated from paper to stone, all due to the

curve wall might drive someone to see as a connection

necessity of making. Without them and the idea of being

between the floor and ceiling and perceive it as a whole,

non-stop, the structural system will not work.

for someone else it might just be different pieces of space.

As TecKnic progresses and evolves, more notions like the ones described above of Gothic characteristics

Unlike colours and feelings, that change from perception

and behaviours melt together to operate as functional

to perception, the crafting and making of it is an absolute.

understanding of the systems. The study of structural

Techniques might change but the craft remains the same

analysis through spring systems to resemble the Gothic

and so does the argument for saying what really makes

vaults help to simulate and triangulate the physical

the Gothic digital is not the repetitions, nor the co-

world. The study of these vault formations ultimately can

dependency but the actual necessity of one to another.

become the tectonic behaviour of the proposed system.

Perception of continuity is what might split the argument

Replacing those lines with the generative formations of

of this thesis from what Spuybroek tries to explain in his

the braids becomes then the challenge of understanding

book. Perception is subjective to interpretation while

the functionality of the form. If the Gothic remains true

making on the other hand relays on the actual physical

to the digital design then the approach of the project

manifestation of someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s imagination. The making is

should remain the same as a means of using the making

always there as a remainder of the physical constrains

to a load transfer structural behaviour.

our world provides us. The continuous casting in some sense becomes the bricks The TecKnit project might in some way relate to what

of the Gothic columns. An aggregation of bricks that in

Textile Tectonics tries to define as digital. In that sense

this case becomes a singular thread of frozen fabric. The

it may seem that it moves along the same path with its

idea of the digital is presented in that notion of making

argument. They share a common ground when it comes

while the Gothic and its cathedrals become by core, the

to the making and originate from an understanding that

subsequent translation of a making process. A process

the way of production will always teach the system to

that led to a radical form finding that never forgets the

evolve the craft.

structural purpose that drove its design to what it is now.

Like in the Gothic architecture, the repetitive way of

It is somehow another realm of production where

making has eventually driven the creation of a continuous

techniques and geometries combine forces to innovate.

old way of designing digital outcomes. Rips that

To explore with the digital but fabricate in the physical.

create vaults end up creating space that then become

To become in some sense a dual symbiotic way of design.

a singularity in a cathedral. A notion of elements, that

To become in some sense a dual symbiotic way of design.

remains attached to the production process and that

shape definition 40

private dense

transit open

The three different clusters have all different uses . This is how they start to divide the function accroding to private to public areas. The more private the space the denser and and more secluded the spatial configuration will be. Also 4 different types of compoents were assemble to create the shape. From very linear geometries to more wider ones, the idea of splitting acording to their density appears as a step towards the form finding.

publi semi-

ic -dense

transit open

line structure

private dense

components

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION Ultimately an improved view of matter and spatial analysis

of what the TecKnit system tries to accomplish is by its

comes from this understanding of the digital process.

core the same fundamentals of the tectonic behaviour

All of them are present in the craft being materialised.

of the Gothic architecture. The tectonics themselves and

The physical world and the digital domain are in essence

the idea of the continuous production, make the system

complete opposites. Numbers and sequences exist for

be a truly crafted digital type of structure and so a duality

the digital where as the physical relates to particles and

of symbiotic behaviour between the digital world and

atoms. Both natures can then be combined by the craft

the analogue way of making can be accomplished.

and then, by doing so, the Gothic becomes digital, in the same as the as the knitting and braiding do for the

The production process and the physical manifestation

TecKnit project.

of ideas may have created digital elements in the Gothic architecture, even though they existed in times before

From the way continuity and the argument of spatial

computational technology was even thought of. But what

conception begin to explain the curve formations of

makes the digital of today digital is not only the CAD

cathedrals, to the co-dependant patterns of vaults and

systems or the generative or the parametric approaches

rose windows, the sort of logic that might contemplate

of super computational design, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the actual fabrication

Gothic as some kind of digital type of architecture begins

of this systems and the relationship between the brain

to appear. By doing so the argument of Gothic being

and the final product what truly assembles an idea of the

digital starts to validate a thesis rather strict, but at

digital patterns of nature translated into the handcraft of

the same time, expands the argument to a concept of

manufacturing process of the human habitat.

function rather than form. The way we transform the world and study the natural The functionalism of the ribs and the process of

surroundings has been and will always be what drives

construction is what made the Gothic look like what it is

architecture to a design approach of evolution in

today, rather than the other way around. Form in this case

form and functional aesthetics. Like in the Gothic the

followed function. And the making process ultimately

functionalism is what drove this architecture to a certain

made the handcrafted architecture seem digital.

form. The digital however, and its purpose differ from the complex forms of nature. Inexistent without a true

Although this thesis may not completely agree with the

process of production, their approach makes them truly

notion of Gothic being digital because of the way its

dependant to a certain materiality and a craft.

conceived, it truly validates that the making process and the strict relationship between the innovation and the building, are by themselves digital. The proto formations

REFERENCES

ref 20 urban fabric proposal Sofia, Bulgaria TecKnit

ref 21 urban fabric proposal Section Sofia, Bulgaria TecKnit

REFERENCES

Spuybroek, L. (2011). Textile Tectonics. (L. Spuybroek, Ed.) Rotterdam: NAi Publishers. Spuybroek, L. (2008). The Architecture of Continuity: Essays and Conversations. (L. Spuybroek, Ed.) Rotterdam: NAi Publishers. Tramontin, M. L. (2006). Textile Tectonics. An Interview with Lars Spuybroek. Spuybroek, L. (2013). Gothic Ontology and Sympathy. Lars Spuybroek / NOX - Bartlett International Lecture Series. London: The Bartlett School of Architecture. Hensel, M. Menges, A. Weinstock, M. (2010) Emergent Technologies and Design. Towards a biological paradigm for architecture. Oxon: Routledge Ruskins, J. (1903) The nature of Gothic. (ET.Cook, Alexander Wedderburn) London Worringers W. (1911). Form in the Gothic (English translation by Herbert Read in 1957) London Heyman J. (1995) The Stone skeleton. Cambridge Sennett, R. (2008) The crafstman. Yale WEB PAGES Teerds, H. (20 de April de 2009). ArchiNed. (T. T. Architecture, Editor) Retrieved the 14 of April de 2014, de Lars Spuybroek: The Architecture of Continuity: http://www.archined.nl/en/reviews/engels/lars-spuybroek-thearchitecture-of-continuity/ IMAGES Ref 2: Purdy. A. https://arpphotography.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/gloucester-4-of-15.jpg Ref 3-4: Hogrebe, J. http://unamaquinalectoradecontexto.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/nox-lars-spuybroek-3/ Ref 5: Kings College Cathedral. http://blogs.artinfo.com/artintheair/2012/04/16/david-stephenson%E2%80%99stranscendental-shots-of-gothic-cathedral-vaults/ Ref 6: Rose window. http://beginningagarden.com/?p=2840 Ref 7: Golden Ratio. http://www.collezioneaurea.it/en/ispirazione.php Ref 8: Temple of Poseidon. http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/symbolism/golden_ratio/kaech/proportion.html Ref 1, 9-19 and rest of graphic material is part of the TecKnit Project Portfolio

M.Arch Graduate Architectural Design The Bartlett School of Architecture University College London

2013-2014