Exploration of Interrelationships between Digital Design and Production Processes of Free-Form Complex Surfaces in a Web-Based Database

Abstract: The intention of this paper is to examine the mutual influences of initial architectural, structural and digital manufacturing related decisions on the evolution of free-form structures. A survey on current applications will be presented to lay the foundation for the examination of new production techniques and structural concerns for the computer generated expressive forms. Finally, the paper will describe an interactive web-based database project which aims to establish a grammar on the mutual influences of architectural, structural and production related features of free-forms. Based on the built examples of blob structures, the database serves as a catalogue of possibilities related to form, and facilitate assessment of the impact of the early choices on the free-form building design and development.