Digital Techniques

Digital techniques and methods help – even if still mostly exemplarily – reinstating basic principles of craft production in design and architecture “ […] in which material and form are naturally intertwined into a tradition of making […]“ (N- Oxman, 2010). The principals of digital design and manufacturing processes are rather linked to a way of craft production than industrial processes as they emphasize the qualities of the materials used and provide higher flexibility during the development and production process. The connection of digital design and digital manufacturing can be resumed as ‘Digital Crafting’, which describes the combination of work techniques typical of craftsmen with computer-supported processes.

The computer extends the principles of traditional crafts by numerous options such as simulation, generation and the connection and controlling of production processes. Further more this approach combined with the potentials of generative modelling: ‘the generalization from objects to operations: A shape is described by a sequence of processing steps, rather than just the end result of applying operations’ (generative-modeling.org). Such methods inevitably push us towards new concepts of design making and thinking and subsequently lead to new design functions and aesthetics. The goal of ‚Digital Crafting‘ in the MIAD Core Module Digital Tools & Methods I is to fundamentally explore digital architectural visualization and modelling processes and their intersections with digital modelling and fabrication.

Student work