DIGITAL CRAFTING

research network 2009 - 2011

Workshop / Seminar

WOOD Construction: How to join?

Copenhagen - School of Architecture The Red House 29.-31.03.2010

A research network supported by The Danish Council for Independent Research, Humanities. Organisers: Mette Ramsgard Thomsen Claus Peder Pedersen Martin Tamke Participants: Centre for IT and Architecture Aarhus School of Architecture Kolding School of Design Technical University of Denmark Danish Technological Institute The Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory

CONTENTS

Workshop How to join..........................04 Seminar The tectonics of wood............08 Day 01 / Workshop................................10 Day 02 / Workshop................................12 Day 03 / Seminar...................................14 Prerequisites...........................................16

WORKSHOP 2 WOOD CONSTRUCTION: HOW TO JOIN

Date: 29.-30. March 2010 The workshop investigates the consequences of digital fabrication on wood construction with a focus on the logic of the joint. The starting point of our discussion will be a universal model interpreting a workpieces production process as flows of matter, energy and information. Implementing this method, we will look into history of technology to find relations between contemporary production technology and the respective joinery in timber construction. This retrospect will be backed up with examples of manual workmanship, industrial interchangeability and individual digital fabrication,

4 04

WORKSHOP 02

including recent work by the workshop guest. Departing form a thorough understanding of production technology and its impact on architecture and products we will try to contextualize the present development and discuss a vision for future development. Workshopguest: Christoph Schindler, schindlersalmern schindlersalmern dedicate their work to the development of parametric objects at the interface of architecture and product design. Well known examples of their approach are the parametric coat rack Kleiderleisteone of very few customizable products in the marketand the awarded wood construction principle Zipshape. The firm is interested in

both digital fabrication and traditional workmanship. Dr. Christoph Schindlers experience ranges from intelligent design objects to developing realization strategies for large complex building projects in his former position at ETH Zurich and designtoproduction. In his writing he seeks to embed contemporary development into a broad historical understanding of production technology.
www.schindlersalmeron.com

Venue The Red House - Royal Academy of Fine Arts School of Architecture The DigitalCrafting workshop combines reflections and discussion in groups with hands-on examples. These focus on how computation can create a new understanding and new possibilities of wood in the building practice, by the combination of customized details, new production techniques and the activation and control of material properties. The hands-on examples are punctual design explorations into the workshops overall question. Their duration is between 45min and 2hours. They exemplify and unfold the overall topic by sketchlike picks of the workshop organisers research.cific design stages going from design to production.

WORKSHOP 02

Workshop 2 WOOD CONSTRUCTION: How to Join?

The Workshop pursues to investigations into a novel understanding of structure and assembly with wood: ZIP Zip-shape - The manufacturing of curved parts is laborious. Special molds are needed to define the curvature during the forming and joining process a factor that is time consuming and costly, especially in individual production and small series. Zipshape is a new universal method that makes it possible to fabricate single curved panels from any plain material without molds. An element consists of two individually slotted panels that interlock when bent to the predefined curvature. We are going to investigate the logics and technologies behind teh system and ask how material and digital fabrication guide new solutions. SNAP Snap- fit- Customized self registering Joints as the Dove-Tail are the key of traditional wood building industry. They allow a rapid assembly of complex geometries. Industrialisation has perfectionized this approach in various snap fit solutions, which are all custommade to teh product to make. This part of teh workshop asks: What happens when SnapFit meets Architecture? Waht are the digital tools and techniques to be introduce to fullfill this in architecture?v

The hands-on examples work with technologies accessible at the school, such as Lasercutter and 3axis milling. In order to follow the strand of thought from the first workshop we will use Rhino/ Grasshopper 3d as common platform for investigations.
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Seminar 4 the ideal of the tectonic: The tectonics of wood

Date: 31. March 2010 Presenters: Michael Hensel - AHO Oslo Sigurdur Omasson - DTU Copenhagen Silvan Oesterle - ETH Zuerich Sebastian Gmelin - Arkitektskole Aarhus

SEMINAR 02

The seminar introduces key thinking into material conceptualisation in architectural thinking. It discusses the history of the term craft and what this has come to mean through the industrialisation of building practice. It critically reflects on the understanding and creation of material and structure and situates the discussion of technological development within a historical frame work. The seminar exemplifies this development in the frame of the wood building practice. Herein it reflects the link between the traditional understanding and practice of wood building and its current state, where a broad field of novel wooden

materials, production and assembly techniques emerge. A special focus is set on the critical understanding of the interdependence between material, tool and imposed information, such as design intent, assembly strategies and tectonic. A novel frame for technology and technology transfer is emerging. The seminar talks give concentrated insights in the presenters practice and inform the discursive speculation about the frame of an emerging building practice that bears the potential of closing the gap between material and making.

Day 1 Workshop - 29.03.2010

11.00 12.00 Intro and Lecture 1: Christoph Schindler: Story of Zipshape - from invention to innovation (and some other projects with wood) Hands On ZIP Design a Zipshape object Introduction to the parametric principle of ZipShape Experimenting with the sample scripts and production of a proposal. Prototypes are lasercut. Prototypes will be CNC milled over night. Lunch Hands On ZIP finalizing of the designs, beginning of production Discussion: Change we can believe in Hands On SNAP Introduction to the idea and tradition of monolithic joits, self registering joints and the development of snap in. Participants develop joining systems, which are directly laser cut or 3d printed over night. End of workshop program Sandwiches Movie: Lutz Dammbeck: Das Netz, Hamburg 2004

13.00 14.00 15.30 16.30

18.30 18.30 19.00

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DISCUSSION 1 Change we Can Believe In

Is todays information technology in architecture with its 3D-modeling-tools, parametric models, self organization and CNC-tools not only omnipresent support in design and production, but actually the self-sufficient focus of the discourse? . Topic MIT-historian Rosalind Williams states in 2002: Instead of being a figure in the ground of history, technology has become the ground not an element of historical change, but the thing itself. Williams questions distinguishes change from progress: Progress has a story line; change does not. (Williams, Rosalind Helen. Retooling : a historian confronts technological change. Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, 2002) Reference
http://books.google.com/books?id=7teSkSnXRYgC&lpg=PP1&dq=rosalind%20williams &hl=de&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Question for Presentation and Discussion Is there an agenda/a purpose of information technology in architecture? Is there a need for such an agenda?

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Movie >Das Netz<

Lutz Dammbeck: Das Netz, Hamburg 2004. The movie s a German production, all the interviews are in English (with the exception of the excellent Heinz von Frster) and the rest is subtitled. An extremely valuable document for the understanding of information technology. Key figures in its development are interviewed in person and confronted with fundamental questions. VENUE The Red House

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SCHEDULE

Day 2 Workshop - 30.03.2010

09.15 Lecture 2 Christoph Schindler: Building as Matter, Energy and Information. Introduction to the doctoral thesis
http://www.schindlersalmeron.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=49

Discussion 10:30 Hands On SNAP: From Joint to Construction. Participants will use the insights gained on joinery systems to build a spatial structure. Parametrisation of joints, masscutomization strategies are tested and worked on. Participants will produce on the laser cutter and printer. Small scale products will be prepared for presentation on seminar day. Lunch Discussion Tolerance friend or foe? Hands On SNAP/ZIP: Production of Zipshape, glueing the milled samples in the workshop. Continuing the work on the SNAP systems and preparing for presentation on Wednesday End of workshop program Dinner (self paid)

12.30 13.30 14.30 18.00 19.00

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14

SEMINAR 02

Day3 Seminar - The TECTONIC OF WOOD

9.15 10.15 10.30 11.00 11.30 12.00 13.00 13.30 14.00 14.30 15.00 16.00 Presentation and Discussion of Workshop results Introduction to the Seminar by Christoph Schindler and Martin Tamke Lecture 1 - Michael Hensel - AHO Oslo Lecture 2 - Sigurdur Omasson Associate Professor DTU Copenhagen Discussion Lunch Lecture 3 - Silvan Oesterle - Professorship Gramazio & Kohler, Architecture and Digital Fabrication, ETH Zuerich http://www.dfab.arch.ethz.ch/ Lecture 4 - Sebastian Gmelin - Arkitektskole Aarhus m.any, MAS project at eth Zuerich Discussion Coffee Sum up and Discussion of further network activities End of Seminar

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Prerequisites

All material and tools for the workshop will be provided. Special skills in CAD or scripting programs are not required. Participants are asked to bring their laptops with installed Rhinoceros 4.0 along. The workshop will make use of the parametric platform Grasshopper. Grasshopper is a plugin for Rhinoceros 4.0. If you have the possibility to have these programs installed on your laptop from sides of your work environment please do this before the workshop. In order to have a smooth start we ask you to check that everything is running perfectly. We can organise a limited amount laptops for those who cant bring the program along. Please tell us if necessary.

Rhinoceros 4.0 can be obtained here: http://www.rhino3d.com/ Grasshopper can be downloaded free of charge here. Please us the latest work-in-progress version. http://www. grasshopper3d.com/page/next-build

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Digital Crafting Research Network

Photo, Illustation Schindler Salmeron(Cover) Schindler Salmeron( Page 04-07,10-13 ) Martin Tamke( Page 06) ETH Sebastian Gmelin ( Page 05-06,14) Professorship Gramazio & Kohler,ETH Zuerich (Page 8-9,14) Graphic Design Ines Burkhardt Centre for IT and Architecture March 2010

Philip de Langes All 10 DK- 1435 Copenhagen K Denmark T. +45 326 866 53 F. +45 326 866 58 cita@karch.dk