Fabricating Customization

This course will explore the tectonic, material and organizational opportunities afforded through automated fabrication and assembly. Particular attention will be directed to the opportunities for mass customization at the building component scale. Emergent topics of digital craft, performative architectures and responsiveness will be explored in relationship to culture, economy and technology. To this end, focus will move beyond formal novelty to meaningful architectural impact. Specific attention will be focused on robotic fabrication. Given the process / task flexibility inherent with robotics, attention will be paid to a range of processes and scales. Through a series of design and fabrication investigations student groups will develop a comprehensive understanding of the robotic fabrication workflow relating to various digital design processes. The recently acquired 7 axis robotic milling machine and 6 axis robotic gripper will serve as the principal instruments of the exploration; however all tools within the lab will be utilized. In an effort to leverage the equipment available, particular focus will be directed to a critical understanding of the distinctions between analog fabrication, traditional digital fabrication and robotic fabrication. To this end, both additive and subtractive processes will be explored. Technical proficiency and critical engagement of the processes will occur through a structured sequence of fabrication projects. These results will provide a basis to inform student group projects. As an advanced digital fabrication course, students should be proficient with CNC routing and high fidelity digital modeling.