Pret-à -Construire - an Educational Inquiry into Computer Aided Fabrication

This paper aims to show and discuss the relevance of developing necessary strategies for reintegrating the concept of fabrication into the architectural design process. The discussion will be partly based on the outcome of a graduate architectural design studio conducted in Spring semester 2002-2003. The graduate studio was part of a series of exploratory studies conducted on the nature of architectural design process transformed by information technologies. Preceded by studios investigating cognition and representation, this last studio focused on the concept of fabrication. The overarching aim of the studio series was to put CAD and CAM in context both within the actual architectural design process and within architectural education. The last of this series, which will be discussed within the frame of this paper, has specifically focused on CAM and the concept of fabrication in architecture. In accordance with the nature of a design studio, the research was more methodological than technical. The studio derived its main inspiration from the constructional templates used in dressmaking, which can be considered as an initial model for mass customization. In this context, the recladding of Le Corbusier’s Maison Domino was given as the main design problem, along with several methodological constraints. The main constraint was to develop the design idea through constructional drawings instead of representational ones. The students were asked to develop their volumetric ideas through digital 3D CAD models while working out structural solutions on a physical 1/50 model of Maison Domino. There was also a material constraint for the model, where only specified types of non-structural paper could be used. At this stage, origami provided the working model for adding structural strength to sheet materials. The final outcome included the explanation of different surface generation strategies and preliminary design proposals for their subcomponents. The paper will discuss both the utilized methodology and the final outcome along the lines of the issues raised during the studio sessions, some of which could be decisive in the putting into context of CAD – CAM in architectural design process. One such issue is mass customization, that is, the mass production of different specific elements with the help of CAM technologies. Another issue is “open source” design, indicating the possibility of a do-it-yourself architecture, where architecture is coded as information, and its code can be subject to change by different designers. The final key issue is the direct utilization of constructional drawings in the preliminary design phase as opposed to representational ones, which aimed at reminding the designer the final phase of fabrication right from the beginning. Finally, the paper will also point at the problems faced during the conduct of the studio and discuss those in the context of promoting CAM for architectural design and production in countries where there is no actual utilization of these technologies for these purposes yet