Making Digital Architecture: Historical, Formal, and Structural Implications of Computer Controlled Fabrication and Expressive Form

Digital output from computer modelling represents a significant new method for visualization and fabrication of architecture. The ability to move directly from three-dimensional modelling to real three-dimensional output challenges the need for traditional means of representation such as plan, section, etc. Moreover, the necessity for conversion of architectural intentions into a code (construction documents, shop drawings, etc.) to be translated by the contractor will also be tested with these new potentials in fabrication. This subjugation of traditional forms of representation and fabrication has serious implications for architectural design process and production. The intention of this paper is to scrutinize underlying issues inherent in a design process of developing architectural solutions using the computer both as a tool for threedimensional visualization as well as for guiding three-dimensional fabrication. Precedent of historic expressive architectural form (seen through the lens of fabrication) will be presented to lay the foundation for the examination of new fabrication techniques and structural concerns for computer generated expressive forms. A series of rapid prototype studies from a digital architecture seminar will also be analyzed to outline the need for developing visualization/fabrication process ideas and research into methods for making digital architecture