001 Thesis Explore Lab Pieter Stoutjesdijk - Public

Access to
clean water
Occupiable space now expands
into an unlimited cyberspace.
Space grows
virtually
Mass bottling of water and
movement to privatize water
changes the way
homes access water.
Water becomes
a product
Food becomes
genetically modied
House represents
personality
Universal access to
personalized home pages
facilitate public expression
of individual interests.
Social unit is
the assembled family
The home becomes largely self-contained,
incorporating public space and social
activities.
s penthouse
s as well as
tached estates
ols of success.
House
represents
success
Off-the-shelf replicated housing
is nostalgic, inspired by traditional
houses of small towns and cities.
House represents
the simulation of
a lost heritage
Space is
internalized
ttel revolutioniz es the
ter market by lau nching
stic bottle.
The UN deems
access to clean
water as a human
right in the 2002
Millenium Goals.
2002
Ashok Gadgil,invent s
an effective and
inexpensive device
for purifying water ,
UV waterworks.
1996
The rst genetically modied crops are produced
and sold.
Water scarcity threatens universal access to
clean water. Adequate water supply is
recognized as a pressing global challenge.
1992
Increased consumption and globalisation creates a new
waste economy. Awareness of waste problems increases
as waste becomes ubiquitous.
Global waste
economy
WASTE
AS
BURDEN
Polypropylene is
introduced.
1980
Waste
farming
McDonalds announce s plans to stop
the use of Styrofoa m packaging of
its food due to con sumer protests.
Cities in Californi a
are required to recycl e
50% of their waste.
2000 1996
2005
Large entertainmen t
units demand thei r
own separate spaces .
Second Life, an Int ernet-based virtualworld
that enables user s
to interact with
each other throug h
motional avatars ,
goes mainstream.
Resource scarcity
shapes construction

Knowledge is digitized and stored.
Knowledge can create knowledge.
s
Knowledge is
archived
Movement
between
family members
Movement
between peers
Digital
property
Knowledge is
co-created
The internet allows for decentralized creation of content by
the masses in an aphysical gathering ground, at a global
scale. Communication frees us from the home.
Energy trading inuences the economic accessibility of
energy commodities for households.
Convention
shapes
construction
International construction organisations set
standardized measures to create a global
market for construction building products.
Resource scarcity
shapes construction
Climatization through a
living envelope
Diminishing resources limit the amount and types of
materials used, as well as the construction process.
CONSTRUCTION
AS
OPTIMIZATION
CONDITIONING
FOR
HEALTH
CONDITIONING
FOR
RESTORATION
Housess are climatized through
technological control of natural processes.
Hybrid climatization
through
a breathing envelope
Home is powered by
the stock market
Catered ats serve individuals
according to lifestyle, offering
different services and ammenities.
Social unit
is the individual
No longer tied to location for social interactions, the internet has
made possible the interest-based assembly of family.
Florida, US A - Disney builds
Celebration, the rst branded city.
1994
USA - Entire suburbs havethe same
type of homes and i nhabited by
people of the same inc ome group.
Information
Revolution
The genetic engineering of foods allows for increased
control. Foods can be made resistant to pests, pesticides
and drought.
Groups of plants called
living machines consume
waste for food.
Homes re-pioneer rened traditional
practices through intelligent controls
and monitoring technologies.
CONSTRUCTION
AS
STANDARDIZATION
The instability of price and supply and the
increasing gravity of climate change has ellicited a
new race for alternative renewable resources.
Home is powered by small-scale
energy generators
With new communication technology,
we mobilize person to person interactions
instantaneously, overcoming physical divide.
As mobility allows for greater independance, distance
between family members grows with specialized
housing types for different generations.
A new movement to stake claim on aphysical property, creating a
home that exists outside the constraints of physical location.
nd-
ity
oal.
Enron les
for Bankruptcy whe n
insider trading pra ctices
are discovered.
2001
O standards for
ping containers
stablished.
1984
Economic boom in India and Chi na has causes a
massive increase in the demandfor steel and
global steel demands con tinue to grow.
By the 1970s, the m ajority of
nations were on the me tric
system and most that w ere
not had started progra mmes
to fully convert tothe
metric system.
First Internet Thermo stat developed.
2001
WATER
AS
COMMODITY
COMMUNITY
AS
BRAND
HOUSE
AS
PRESTIGE
WATER
AS
RIGHT
FOOD
AS
INNOVATION
HOUSE
AS
NOSTALGIA
WASTE
AS
ENERGY
COMMUNITY
AS
CHOICE
SPACE
FOR
DEMATERIALIZATION
HOUSE
AS
HOMEPAGE
SPACE
FOR
ACCUMULATION
MOBILIZE
TO
ATOMIZE
ENERGY
FROM
TRADING
COMMUNICATION
AS
NETWORK
ENERGY
FROM
NATURE
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
CREATION
MOBILIZE
TO
NETWORK
COMMUNICATION
AS
DATABASE
InformationAge
High Rise
Globalisation
McMansion
Present
Digital house
1980 1990 2000 2002 2004 2006 PAST FUTURE
HOUSE AS
INTELLECTUALLY
SATISFYING
SPACE
FOR
CUSTOMIZATION
COMMUNITY
AS
SHARED KNOWLEDGE
COMMUNICATION
AS
CREATION
MOBILIZE
TO
SURVIVE
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
PERSONAL PRODUCTION
ENERGY
FROM
LOCAL DEVICES
CONSTRUCTION
AS DEMOCRATIZED
FABRICATION
WASTE
AS
HISTORY
A world of consumers of
energy, resources and
information trasnforms
in one of producers
Democratizing
Construction
Self-replicating
Machines
Next Industrial
Revolution
From Consumers to Producers
The return of Craft
Construction information is
generated directly from
design information
Closing the Gap
Global knowledge about
rediscovered passive solutions is
combined with state-of-the-art
technology
Passive + Active
Small energy producing- and
stroring devices can be manufactured by
everyone. Open Source designs
are evolved rapidly.
Energy abundance
Because all physical products can be
manufactured by everyone, money
is becoming less prominent; creativity
and good ideas will gain value.
De-Capitalism
The financial and productive
power is in the hands of billions
of people instead of a few market
leading companies
from 1e5 to 1e10
Worldwide transportation of ideas will
replace transport of goods due to easy
local production.
Local production, global sharing
With Digital Fabrication the digital
world we invented will be connected
with the physical world we invented.
(Gershenfeld, 2005)
Atoms are the new Bits
In complex design projects,
architects will become the
central hubs to balance
data from various resources.
Master Builder
Ideas are shared and evolved globally,
open-source over the internet before
being digitally produced.
Sharing and Evolving
The collective design intelligence will
evolve exponential, like most applications of
web2.0 (App store, wikipedia, facebook),
and replace the singular intelligence
Collective design intelligence
FabLabs will spread all around
the world and become the main
centers of design and production.
FabLabs
Mass production from the 20th
century is replaced by mass-
customization, made possible by
digital designs and digtial production.
Mass Customization
Designs can be customized
bottom-up by the final user.
Personal Customization
A design culture driven by originality
and the image, shifts towards quality
and performance, made possible by an
integral + informed design process.
Integrating skills & knowledge
at the core of Architecture
Professional designers use their
enormous creative potential to
develop new and intelligent solutions
to the extreme challenges
humankind faces.
Priorities
Atoms for materials are
extracted from air and
water (no private property)
The Sky is the Limit
Production + Use in the same place
eases the possibility to close the cycles
of all biological and technical nutrients
100% closed cycles
Products are created
digitally at an atom scale,
materials are build in the
same way.
Creation on Atom level
Digitally fabricated machines
extract resources from 20th
century waste stocks.
20th century waste
to 21st century materials
With digital fabrication, precision,
ornamentation and quality
returns in production processes.
like in 20th c. high-end boat industry.
DIGITAL DESIGN & DIGITAL FABRICATION
FOR ULTIMATE CHALLENGES
thesis Pieter Stoutjesdijk, TU Delft
Institute Without Boundaries Pieter Stoutjesdijk, TU Delft
WATER
FOOD
WASTE
SOCIAL
SPATIAL
FINANCE
CONSTRUCTION
AIRHANDLING
ENERGY
MOBILITY
COMMUNIC
IDENTITY
Economy
Terrain
Climate
Digital Design and Fabrication for Ultimate Challenges | Thesis Pieter Stoutjesdijk | Jan 2013

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1 INTRODUCTION 6
1.1 INTODUCTION 6
1.2 TEAM 6
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 7
1.4 SPECIFIC USE CASE 8
1.4.1 Problem Statement 8
1.4.2 Resulting need 10
1.4.3 Climatology 11
1.4.4 Application area 11
1.4.5 Design Brief 14

2 THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 16
2.1 INTRODUCTION 16
2.1.1 Definitions 16
2.1.2 Digital Fabrication Machinery 16
2.1.3 The revolution is both Physical nd Digital 17
2.1.4 Far-Reaching predictions 17
2.1.5 Relevance for Architecture 18
2.2 DEMOCRATIZING PRODUCTION 18
2.2.1 From Consumers to Producers 18
2.2.2 Personal and Shared Fabrication tools 19
2.2.2.2 Shared Fabrication Tools 20
2.2.3 Fabrication Supporting Web-based Tools 21
2.2.4 Redefining the Nature of Economy 22
2.2.5 Tapping the Long Tail of Talent 22
2.2.6 Satisfaction of the Creative Process 23
2.2.7 Democratizing Innovations in Humanitarian Aid 24
2.2.8 Democratizing Innovations in Architecture 25
2.3 MASS CUSTOMIZATION 27
2.3.1 Definition 27
2.3.2 Cultural Production 27
2.3.3 Other industries 28
2.3.4 Mass Customization in Architecture 28
2.4 DIGITAL CRAFT, ORNAMENT, AESTHETICS 30
2.4.1 rediscovery of Ornamentation 30
2.4.2 Micro Mass-Customization 30
2.4.3 Calculated aesthetics 31
2.4.4 Performance Based Variation 31
2.5 LOCAL PRODUCTION 32
2.5.1 Local Design Intervention 32
2.5.2 Production Back From East 33
2.5.3 Closing Resource Cycles 34
2.6 SHARING, O.S. COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE 34
2.6.1 Digital Blueprints of Physical Objects 34
2.6.2 Open-Source Hardware 34
2.6.3 The New O.S. Business Model 35
2.6.4 Example Projects 36
2.6.5 Potential for Architecture 37
2.7 INTEGRATING DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION 38
2.7.1 History of Separation 38
2.7.2 File to Factory 40
2.7.3 Integration of Disciplines 41
2.7.4 The Master Builder: Artist + Craftsman 42
2.8 INTEGRATING ART & SCIENCE 43
2.8.1 History of Separation 43
2.8.2 Huge Amounts of Data 46
2.8.3 Digital Tools for Architecture 47
2.8.4 BIM, One Integral Model 47
2.8.5 Performative Architecture 49
2.8.6 The Master Builder: Central Hub 50
2.9 OVERVIEW OF POSSIBLE EFFECTS 53
2.10 BIBLIOGRAPHY CHAPTER 1 & 2 54

3 DESIGN PROCESS 587

4 USE CASE 609

5 BUILDING SYSTEM 85
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THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
4 DIGITAL CRAFT, ORNAMENT AESTHETICS 5 LOCAL PRODUCTION
1 INTRODUCTION
2 DEMOCRATIZING INNOVATIONS
3 MASS CUSTOMIZATION
4.3 A NEW KIND OF ORNAMENTATION 4.1 MICRO MASS-CUSTOMIZATION
4.2 COMPUTER GENERATED PATTERNS, MATHEMATICS
3.1 DEFINITION 3.2 CULTURAL PRODUCTION
3.3 OTHER INDUSTRIES
3.4 MASS CUSTOMIZATION IN ARCHITECTURE
2.1 DEMOCRATIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE
2.2 PERSONAL AND SHARED FABRICATION TOOLS
2.3 FABRICATION SUPPORTING WEB-BASED TOOLS
2.4 REDEFINING THE NATURE OF ECONOMY
2.5 TAPPING THE LONG TAIL OF TALENT
2.6 SATISFACTION IN THE CREATIVE PROCESS
2.7 RELATED TO HUMANITARIAN AID
1.1 NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1.2 DIGITAL FABRICATION MACHINERY
1.4 FAR-REACHING PREDICTIONS
1.5 DEMOCRATIZING INNOVATIONS IN ARCHITECTURE
8.5 PERFORMATIVE ARCHITECTURE
8.6 THE MASTER BUILDER: CENTRAL HUB
5.2 CLOSING RESOURCE CYCLES
1.3 REVOLUTION IS BOTH PHYSICAL & DIGITAL
2.8 RELATED TO ARCHITECTURE
DIRECTLY RELATED TO ARCHITECTURE
CAD CAM
GREAT PART ALREADY BUILD BY AMATEURS
RAPID MANUFACTURING
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THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
5 LOCAL PRODUCTION
6 SHARING, COLLECTIVE O.S. INTELLIGENCE
7 INTEGRATING DESIGN & MAKING
8 ANALYZING & SELECTING
8.3 ANALYZING AND SELCTION TOOLS
8.4 BIM, ONE INTEGRAL MODEL
8.5 PERFORMATIVE ARCHITECTURE
8.6 THE MASTER BUILDER: CENTRAL HUB
8.1 HISTORY OF SEPARATION
7.4 THE MASTER BUILDER: ARTIST + CRAFTSMAN 7.3 PROCESS: FILE TO FACTORY
7.2 OTHER INDUSTRIES: SPACECRAFT, SHIPBUILDING
7.1 HISTORY OF SEPARATION
6.5 POTENTIAL FOR ARCHITECTURE
6.1 DIGITAL BLUEPRINTS OF PHYSICAL OBJECTS
6.2 OPEN SOURCE HARDWARE
5.1 PRODUCTION BACK FROM EAST
5.2 CLOSING RESOURCE CYCLES 5.3 LOCAL DESIGN INTERVENTION
6.3 THE NEW O.S. BUSINESS MODEL
6.4 EXAMPLE PROJECTS
8.2 HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA
INTELLIGENCE FROM SOFTWARE INTELLIGENCE FROM AMATEURS SOFT TYPES OF DATA
MOST DATA ALREADY DIGITAL
PETABYTE
POTENTIAL FOR NEW ARCHITECT
ARCHITECTS LOST IN VISIONARY CULTURE
GREATER RESPONSIBILITY > GREATER REWARDS
IMPROVED EFFICIENCY REDUCING MISTAKES
BLOBS: EARLY RE-EMERGING
GAP BETWEEN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
SEPARATION IN THE RENAISSANCE ARCHITECT WAS BOTH DESIGNER AND BUILDER
OPEN ARCHITECTURE NETWORK GLOBAL VILLAGE CONSTRUCTION SET
OS CAR
QUIRKY
MORE INFLUENCE KNOWLEDGE OF MAKING
SEPARATION BY ECOLE DES BEAUX ARTS
FURTHER FRAGMENTATION THROUGH SPECIALISTS
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1 INTRODUCTION
1 . 1 I NT ODUCT I ON

This thesis is part of a dual degree graduation project in Architecture and Building Technology departments at Delft University of Technology.
The first part explores possible consequences of a predicted next industrial revolution in which our digital and physical worlds merge through digital
fabrication. In chapter 3, a design process is developed that makes optimal use of the digital revolution and the next industrial revolution in an innovative
way. This generic design process is tested and specified via a realistic use case (chapter 4), and connected with a digitally fabricated building system
(chapter 5).

Pieter Stoutjesdijk
J anuary 2013

1 . 2 T EA M
- Thijs Asselbergs Main Mentor Building Technology
- Robert Nottrot Main Mentor Architecture
- Sander Mulders Mentor Digital Computation and Research
- Martijn Stellingwerff Mentor Digital Fabrication and Research

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1 . 3 RESEA RCH QUES T I ONS

// Architecture

// Architecture // Theory
What will be the influence of a predicted next Industrial Revolution
on consumers, architects and architecture?
- What are the main characteristics of this next industrial revolution?
- Do we already see hints to these changes in architecture and its
realization in particular?
- In what differs architecture from other products regarding these
changes?
- (How) will this next industrial revolution be able to reverse the on-going
decline of the architectural profession?
- (How) will this next industrial revolution be able to change current
tendency in architecture of a narrow focus on originality and the image?

// Architecture // Use Case
Where lies the greatest potential of digital processes in
architecture the coming decades?
- What are most pressing global challenges regarding architecture?
- What are the requirements of the production strategy and the product?
(location, ease of production, flexibility, adjustability)

// Architecture // Development
What are the specifications of the different elements in the design
strategy, in relation to the use case?
- Design Goals
- Design Parameters
- Design Solutions
- Production Tools

// Building Technology

// Building Technology // Theory
What role does digital fabrication play in the past and current
production processes of architecture?
- What role did digital fabrication play in architecture, and what is its
current role?
- What are the available techniques, machines and materials used in
digital fabrication?
- In what way do current digital production strategies differ from those of
tomorrow and the future?
- What are the consequences of some existing innovative digital design
and production processes for architects, clients and architecture?

// Building Technology // Use Case
What digital design and production strategy fits best with the
chosen architectural use case?
- What digital design and production process has most positively
balanced potential for clients, architects and architecture in the chosen
architectural use case?
- What is the relationship between various actors in this digital process?

// Building Technology // Development
What are the specifications of the different elements in the
production strategy, in relation to the use case?
- Materials
- Machines
- J oints and details
- Assembly strategies
- Characteristics of process and product
- Aesthetics

Figure 1.3 - Global average temperature and CO
2

concentration 2000-2100
(Hindrichs and Daniels 2007)
Figure .0.1 World population 1950-2050
Figure 1.2 - Global energy use 1850-2100

1 . 4 SPECI F I C USE CA SE
1. 4. 1 PROBL EM STATEMENT
1. 1
1.4.1.1 Global population and rising living standards
The world is facing more pressing challenges than we have ever seen before. The
population of the earth has increased ten times during the last two centuries, reaching
seven billion people. Life expectancy has almost doubled during same period; from 40 to 75
years (UN, 2005). The increasing world population combined with increasing living
standards results in great exploitation of the worlds limited resources. Oil and coal reserves
are being consumed approximately 2 million times faster than they were formed (Hindrichs
and Daniels 2007). By doing so, we are conducting an experiment with an unknown
outcome.

1.4.1.2 Human caused climate change
What we do know however, is that deforestation and our heavy reliance on fossil fuels result
in human caused climate change. The most comprehensive modelling yet carried out on the
temperature rise in the next century is executed by MITs Centre for Global Change
Science. This study shows a median probability of surface warming of 5.2 degrees Celsius
by 2100, with a 90 per cent probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 degrees. (Chandler 2010) Study
co-author Ronald Prinn, says that there is significantly more risk than we previously
estimated.

1.4.1.3 Terrifying scenarios
A temperature rise of about four degrees may sound not much quite pleasant actually.
However, an average warming of the entire globe with four degrees would render the planet
unrecognisable from anything humans have ever experienced. According to J ames Hansen
Americas most eminent climate scientist a 4 degrees rise in temperature during the next
century would result in a likely global population capacity of less than one billion people
(Spatt 2011). On average this means more than 1 million human global warming deaths
every week, during the next 100 years.

1.4.1.4 Human response
Perhaps the biggest source of uncertainty has not to do with the global climate system, but
with us. Will we keep on signing ambitious goals while failing to achieve very modest
targets? Or will some amazing technological advance make the switch to a fully sustainable
world a piece of cake?
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Figure 1.4 - Amount of natural disasters 1980-2010

The chart shows for each year the number of great and
devastating natural catastrophes, divided up by type of
event. Results are indexed according to population density
and improved measurements.
Source: (MunichRE 2011)
It is painfully clear that by the time the need for drastic action becomes blindingly obvious,
the best opportunity to curb harmful change will have been squandered. Yet if draconian
action is taken today, any success in limiting warming will be greeted with scepticism that
drastic measures were ever worthwhile or even necessary. (Vince 2009)

1.4.1.5 Short term effects
Even if we manage to drastically cut our CO
2
emission, we should still adopt to the effects of
climate change that are unavoidable by now. Fire, water, earth and air are rapidly becoming
more and more destructive everywhere on this planet. 91% of global natural disasters is the
result of atmospheric conditions, while only 9% is caused by geographical forces
(earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) (MunichRE 2011). The number of disasters in this first
category related to climate change has more than doubled in just three decades (fig.
7.3).


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Figure 1.5 - A typology of hazards.

Most natural disaster categories that influence housing are
man-made and occur on a rapid time scale. Therefore,
there are no possibilities for preparation.
The design of
cheap, flexible
and quickly
realizable
housing
solutions for the
mid-term is more
urgent than
ever.
1. 4. 2 RESUL TI NG NEED

1.4.2.1 Cheap, flexible and quickly realizable housing
It is clear the required reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and increase of carbon
biosequestration should be combined with adaptation to a world with much more natural
violence. According to human rights specialist Rita Emch, the international community is
only partially equipped to face this challenge. Usually most aid is directed at saving lives
immediately following a disaster, while displaced persons receive hardly any support to
restart their lives (Emch 2008). The design of cheap, flexible and quickly realizable housing
solutions for the mid- term is more urgent than ever. These transitional shelters are
inhabited in the shift form temporary shelters (usually tents) to permanent homes.

1.4.2.2 The essence of architecture
Gained protection from the natural environment inside buildings is a basic human need,
critical to good health, stable employment and effective education. In developed areas of
our world this function is provided for many ages and therefore automatically assumed.
Other aspects of architecture like displaying social status have gained significance. In
post-disaster situations however, the luxury of a liveable indoor environment is suddenly
wiped out. The modification of the natural environment to a liveable one becomes again the
primary focus. The human body is capable of life within a wide range of earth's
environmental conditions. Outside of the poles, people inhabit virtually every part of the
earth. Within the range of overall climatic conditions is a tighter range of cosiness called the
'comfort zone'. The main issue for comfort and even survival, is temperature. Housing as
shelter is an extension of our bodily heat control mechanisms a collective skin.

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In 2005, more
than five of a
total of six billion
people worldwide
lived either in
subtropical or
tropical climate
regions.

1. 4. 3 CL I MATOL OGY

1.4.3.1 Environmental Forces
In order to create a comfortable indoor environment, it is important to study micro- and
macro-climatic conditions. By dealing most efficiently with the weather's impact on the
building, it is possible to work with, rather than against, the local environment.
Solar geometry is of particular interest of designers. While the wind, rain, temperature and
humidity all affect the climatic conditions, the sun typically has the greatest impact. As the
primary energy source on earth, the sun is directly related to natural heating and natural
lighting of buildings. None of the other climactic forces typically offers as much opportunity
to harness its power, or creates as many issues to deal with.

1.4.3.2 Passive Solutions
Systems for mechanically modifying building environments can allow virtually any structure
to maintain human comfort. However, regarding to the efficiency, complexity and costs of
these active systems it is preferable to use passive solutions wherever possible especially
in post-disaster situations.
The predictability and easy implementation of active solutions caused a loss of the basic
knowledge required to create passive structures. Often this knowledge can still be found in
vernacular architectural solutions dating from times that mechanical systems were not yet
developed. Extracting the most important principles behind passive solutions and converting
and integrating them in the proposed building system will be the focus of paragraph 5.4.

From the factors of the environmental forces placed on a building, a language of form can
be created that communicates with the natural world in a very fundamental way designed
and physicalized in a process that benefits from current state-of-the-art technology.

1. 4. 4 APPL I CATI ON AREA

1.4.4.1 Tropics most habited and most vulnerable
In 2005, more than five of a total of six billion people worldwide lived either in subtropical or
tropical climate regions. (Hindrichs and Daniels 2007) 6 Half of the worlds surface lies in
the tropics. At the same time these areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
(Vince 2009) 30 Fiercer Asian and African monsoons will cause more devastating floods.
Besides, water will evaporate faster, leaving drought across Asia. Warmer temperatures
cause a reduction in soil moisture and a lack of freshwater across China, the south-west

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Figure 1.6 - World map of natural catastrophes 2010
Haitis 2010 earthquake is shown as the red dot located near the arrow.
Source (MunichRE 2011)

US, Central America, most of South America and Australia. All of the major deserts are
predicted to expand, with the Sahara reaching right into central Europe. (Vince 2009) 30

1.4.4.2 Micro Location
One of the most vulnerable areas in the tropics is the country Haiti. The island has to deal
regularly with earthquakes, tropical storms, landslides and floods. The earthquake of
J anuary 2010 caused 200.000 deaths, 1,5 million people became homeless. 2 years later
there is still huge lack of shelter, sanitation and clean drinking water. The interdisciplinary
Urban Emergencies group at TU Delft aims at developing knowledge from various
disciplines to find solutions for the extremely complex problems Haiti is facing. One of the
areas of interest of the Urban Emergencies group is the informal settlement Villa Rosa,
south east of capital Port-Au-Prince. This is the intervention area in which the generic
design process (chapter 3) is tested and specified (chapter 4) and combined with a specific
digitally produced building system (chapter 5).

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Figure 1.7 World map of what a 4C warmer world will look
like, based on various climate studies, including areas with
high potential to harvest renewable energy.
(Vince 2009)

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1. 4. 5 DESI GN BRI EF
OPENNESS OF DESIGN
The design process should be open in such a
way that collective intelligence and collective
creativity will be able to evolve the process and
product over time.
The possibilities created by the digital
revolution should be fully exploited in order to
make such open source design process
successful.
OPENNESS OF DESIGN
The production process should support an
open source design process. Therefore, a direct
translation from digital to physical is required.
This is possible with a production process that is
fully based on digital fabrication.
APPLICABILITY OF P. PROCESS
The production process should be universal in
such a way that it can be theoretically applied
everywhere on this planet.
Non-structural elements like stairs, doors,
furniture and window frames should be
realizable with the same production process as
the load-bearing elements (walls, oors and
roof).
REALIZATION TIME
The design, fabrication and assembly of one
house should take 2 people no more than two
weeks (possible transportation and material
production excluded). (For transitional shelters,
quick realization is less signicant than for
temporary shelters.)
PRODUCTION SITE
Local construction makes it possible to tailor
the design to local conditions and personal
preferences without the need of extensive
communication.
Limited transportation to and from production
site is desirable due to usully poor infrastructure
EASE OF PRODUCTION
Besides the digital fabrication machine and its
connected devices, no other electronic tools
should be necessary for production and
assembly.
The fabrication laboratory should be installed
in maximum three days and require no more
than one specialist to run beside some
unskilled labourers.
No literacy should be required during a
possible assembly process.
TRANSPORTABILITY OF MACHINERY
The digital fabrication machinery (including
power supply and computer facilities) should be
transportable by common transportation
helicopter and tting in a sea container. (A
URBANISM ARCHITECTURE PROCESS
PROGRAM
The new situation should house at least the
same amount of households as the pre-earth-
quake situation.
A South East part of Villa Rosa has been
divided in 7 zones with following number of
households:
Zone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# h.h. 7 10 11 14 15 13 11 5 17 17
PATHWAYS
Pathways should be overall improved.
1
Easy access to the houses must be
emphasized.
1
Evacuation routes should be planned.
1
Pathways should follow straight lines where
possible, in order to avoid creating bewildering
(and potentially dodgy) areas.
1
COURTYARDS
Every house should have some private outdoor
space situated directly next to the house.
1
The outdoor space should be enclosed for
security reasons.
1
The outdoor space should be at least partly
shaded.
The ideal number of households attached to a
court yard is 1 or 2.
1
SANITATION
There should be 2 latrines for every 3
households.
1
New built structures should be equipped with
a cistern. 2 households could share 1 cistern.
1
Volume size of the cistern should be according
to the number of occupants of each household.
1
Estimated size of a cistern should be based on
30L-90L water usage per person per day, with a
1-month buffer to account for droughts and
heavy rain (the average length of the worst
draughts in Haiti).
2
60 x 5 = 300 L (+/- 150L) per household, per
day2
300 x 30 = 9000 L (+/- 4500L) per household.
2
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
SWM is just as much a management issue as
a planning issue. Training, awareness building
and mobilization needed in community.
1
There should be two different collection bins:
organic waste (to composting) and general
waste (to burning), sized according to number of
residents in each zone.
1
Assuming waste is collected once per 2
weeks, the following quantity of waste per
household (5 people) is estimated:
2
0,22 x 14 x 5 = 15,4 kg trash
2
0,73 x 14 x 5 = 51,1 kg compost
2
PROGRAM
Minimum house size is 18 sq. meters, living
space.
1
Minimum house size in a refugee camp in
tropical climates is 3,5 sq. meters per person.
3
For transitional housing this should be more.
Houses should have the option for extensions;
either on similar level or on top.
FACILITIES
Depending on the household size each
dwelling should have at least one or two private
sleeping space(e).
There should be one lockable storage and one
multifunctional space connected with the main
entrance.
Cooking facilities will be placed outside.
DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
The housing solution should be fully customiz-
able to local conditions, like the size and shape
of the plot, slopes in terrain, and direction to the
street.
COMFORT
Passive climate strategies should be used to
bring the indoor climate at locally acceptable
comfort levels.
No mechanical heating or cooling should be
used.
DURABILITY
Focus is on transitional housing (lifespan >5
years), possibly upgradable to permanent homes
(lifespan 20 years).
RESILIENCE
The architecture should be both storm- and
earthquake resistant. Besides, re safety and
termite resistance should be taken into account.
MATERIALS
Materials should come from a renewable or
abundant resource.
The amount of materials should be limited to
reduce the types of connections needed and to
make production and assembly quicker and
easier. No more than three materials should be
used for all structural and non-structural
elements (excluding installations).
1
Cordaid, Villa Rosa Design Guidelines, Jan 2012.
2
ARUP, Villa Rosa Planning Guidelines, Feb 2012.
3
UNCR, Handbook for Emergencies, Feb 2007: 64
4
US Army Factles, to be obtained from: www.army.mil/factles (accessed: May 2012)
15 of 117


16 of 117
Weve had a
digital revolution,
but we dont need
to keep having it:
weve won.
Whats coming
now is the
revolution in
digital
fabrication.
(Neil Gershenfeld in principal voices 2007)
2 THE NEXT INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
2 . 1 I NT RODUCT I ON
2. 1. 1 DEFI NI TI ONS
Weve had a digital revolution, but we dont need to keep having it: weve won. Whats
coming now is the revolution in digital fabrication. (Neil Gershenfeld in principal voices
2007).

Digital fabrication very much what is sounds like: a way of making that uses digital data to
control a fabrication process. It relies on computer-driven machine tools to build, transform,
or cut materials. Digital fabrication is currently mostly used to create prototypes during the
design process, called Rapid Prototyping (RP). Rapid Manufacturing (RM) is an extension
of rapid prototyping in which the digitally fabricated can be directly used as fully functional
end products.

2. 1. 2 DI GI TAL FABRI CATI ON MACHI NERY
2.1.2.1 Techniques, Scales and Prices
Most common examples of digital fabrication machines are the laser cutter, 3d printer and
CNC milling machine. As these machines are computer controlled, they are generally much
faster and way more accurate than traditional hand-based alternatives. Besides, the digital
input allows for much more flexibility than the techniques developed during the first and
second industrial revolution. The definition of computer driven machinery is quite broad
both in what the machines do (bending, cutting, welding, milling, printing), on what scale
(from printing on the Nano scale to complete buildings) and for what price (the machines
price tags range from tens of euros to several millions). Types of digital fabrication,
machines and their possibilities are discussed in chapter three.

2.1.2.2 Fab Labs
The broad definition of digital fabrication allows for broad possibilities. Combining a few of
todays digital fabrication tools creates a fully functioning factory a Fabrication Lab (Fab
Lab) - for the price of an average car. The idea to comine high-end fabrication tools to
create endless possibilities grew out of MITs popular class How to make almost anything
taught by Professor Neil Gershenfeld, head of the Centre for Bits and Atoms. This unique
laboratory is breaking down boundaries between the digital and physical worlds. Placing
Fab Labs everywhere around the world will allow ordinary people to design, optimize,
fabricate and evaluate most of their own products: from microchips to tractors, from steam
turbines to prostheses. This way, people locally create solutions to local problems. As an
experiment starting in 2002, the first Fab Labs went to rural India, Costa Rica, northern
17 of 117
Sometimes this
comes from
management
techniques, but
the really
powerful changes
come from new
tools. And there
is no tool more
powerful than the
computer itself.
Rather than just
driving the
modern factory,
the computer is
becoming the
model for it.
(Anderson 2012)

Norway, inner-city Boston and Ghana. (Gershenfeld 2007) Since then their amount is
growing fast, with currently over hundred registered Labs all around the world.
(http://wiki.fablab.is/wiki/Portal:Labs)

2.1.2.3 Development
Todays collection of digital fabrication machines and their software are fully in development.
We are now in the minicomputer era of digital fabrication. (Gershenfeld in TED talk 2007)
Neil Gershenfeld offers another class at MIT, called How to make something that makes
almost anything. It is an open-source challenge to create better digital fabrication devices.
Millions of dollars of equipment at MIT are like the mainframe of digital fabrication. We can
make anything we want using those tools. In twenty years well make it so you can have it in
the home. (Gershenfeld in Principal Voices 2007)

This development is quite similar to the development of desktop computers and desktop
printers. Until three decades ago, computers were room-sized mainframes, cost as much as
a house and were only used by governments, big companies and universities. The same
with desktop printers: in 1985 Steve J obs launched the first desktop printer, the LaserWriter,
at a price of $7.000. Two and a half decades later we buy a much faster, smaller and more
precise desktop printer for only 1/200
th
of that cost. Making digital fabrication affordable for
everyone will bring the programmability of the digital worlds weve invented to the physical
world we inhabit.

2. 1. 3 THE REVOL UTI ON I S BOTH PHYSI CAL ND DI GI TAL
Every few generations, the fundamental means of production is transformed: steam,
electricity, standardization, the assembly line, lean manufacturing, and now robotics.
Sometimes this comes from management techniques, but the really powerful changes come
from new tools. And there is no tool more powerful than the computer itself. Rather than just
driving the modern factory, the computer is becoming the model for it. (Anderson 2012)

The rapidly growing influence of Computer Aided Design (CAD) we already see around us,
will be complemented by a growing influence of Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) in
the coming decades. Digital fabrication is a process that connects the digital world to the
physical world. It is the integration of these two worlds that will enhance both, creating huge
potential. The next industrial revolution is not merely about new ways of producing physical
objects, but also about new ways of collaborating, sharing, marketing and financing.

2. 1. 4 FAR- REACHI NG PREDI CTI ONS

18 of 117
Heres the
history of two
decades in one
sentence: if the
past 10 years
have been about
discovering post-
institutional
social models on
the web, then the
next 10 years will
be about
applying them to
the real world.
Three guys with
laptops used to
describe a Web
startup. Now it
describes a
hardware
company, too
(Anderson 2010)
When it comes to the next industrial revolution there is no shortage of far-reaching
predictions by renewed authors and scientists. In a study funded by the British government
entitled Bridging the Digital and Physical worlds we read that long accepted business
models are being blown apart.(Davenport 2011) Chris Anderson writes in his concluding
chapter of his just published book Makers, that this next industrial revolution creates a
billion little entrepreneurial opportunities that can be discovered and exploited by smart,
creative people, leading to more innovation, in more places, from more people, focused on
more narrow niches. () Collectively all these new producers will reinvent the industrial
economy. () The West can rise again.(Anderson 2012) (p225-229)

2. 1. 5 REL EVANCE FOR ARCHI TECTURE
At this very moment, the potential for change is especially relevant in light of the current
crises we face in the West; an economic, political and ecological crisis. All these crises, as
well as most of their solutions, are closely linked to the architectural profession. Could a
next industrial revolution play a central role in the solutions for these problems?

Among architects these predictions will raise the question what the consequences might be
for their profession. If the next industrial revolution will dramatically change our economy,
will it change our building industry as well? This chapter will describe some characteristics
of the predicted next industrial revolution and explore the consequences for architects,
clients and architecture.

2 . 2 DEMOCRA T I Z I NG PRODUCT I ON
2. 2. 1 FROM CONSUMERS TO PRODUCERS
An article in Wired Magazine entitled In the next Industrial Revolution Atoms are the new
Bits illustrates the ease with which ordinary people can invent, prototype and manufacture
their own goods; Heres the history of two decades in one sentence: if the past 10 years
have been about discovering post-institutional social models on the web, then the next 10
years will be about applying them to the real world. (Anderson 2010)

Hardware is becoming more like software. Both will merge and enhance each other. This
makes the democratizing potential of our digital world available to our physical world. The
Internet democratized publishing, broadcasting, and communications, and the consequence
was a massive increase in the range of both participation and participants in everything
digital the long tail of bits. Now the same is happening to manufacturing the long tail of
things. (Anderson 2010)

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The desktop
versions of
professional
digital fabrication
machines bring
high-end
fabrication
techniques of big
factories to
everyones
desktop, just like
the invention of
the desktop
printer brought
the possibilities
of complete
pressrooms in
every office and
in every house.

Today, micro-factories make everything from cars to bike components to bespoke furniture
in any design you can imagine. The collective potential of a million garage tinkerers is about
to be unleashed on the global markets, as ideas go straight into production, no financing or
tooling required. Three guys with laptops used to describe a Web startup. Now it describes
a hardware company, too. (Anderson 2010)

When the cost of high-quality resources for design and prototyping becomes very low,
these resources can be diffused very widely, and the allocation problem diminishes in
significance. The net result is and will be to democratize the opportunity to create. (Hippel
2005) Not far from now, everyone will have the ability to create everything. Some recently
invented web-based tools and digital fabrication devices are rapidly making this prediction a
reality.

2. 2. 2 PERSONAL AND SHARED FABRI CATI ON TOOL S
2.2.2.1 Personal Fabrication Tools
The desktop versions of professional digital fabrication machines bring high-end fabrication
techniques of big factories to everyones desktop, just like the invention of the desktop
printer brought the possibilities of complete pressrooms in every office and in every house.

The first 3D printer with a price tag under $1,000 is the open source MakerBot; developed
by Bre Pettis with his team of hardware engineers and available from 2009. Its technique is
based Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM); ejecting plastic molten wire. After years of
optimization the layers Makerbot 2 currently have a minimum height of 0.10 mm (254 DPI).
This resolution is suitable for prototypes, but does often not comply with the standards of
final products. http://www.makerbot.com/

Latest released 3D printer is The Form 1, priced at $2500 intended for personal- and small
business use. It is developed by FormLabs, a spinoff from MIT Media Lab. Its technique is
based on Laser Sintering (LS); using light to transform a liquid locally into solid state. This
technique provides the highest accuracy currently possible in 3D printing, the Form 1 has a
minimal layer height of 0.025 mm (1016 DPI). The Form 1 provides factory quality output
from a desktop and is currently the ultimate Personal Fabrication tool. http://formlabs.com/

Not only 3D printers, but the whole spectrum of professional digital fabrication equipment is
currently under developed in order to make it available for non-professionals. The price tags
of these semi-professional machines are only a fraction of that of their professional

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factories in the
cloud make even
the highest-end
tools available for
everyone with an
internet
connection and a
credit card
predecessors. Often, these machines are shipped as DIY kits, containing mostly digitally
fabricated parts.

Some successful personal fabrication projects are Buildlog, LaserSaur, Build Your Own
Laser (all laser cutters), ShapeOko, DIYLCNC (small CNC routers), BlackFoot, Kikori (large
CNC routers) and RedFrog (a pick and place machine).

2.2.2.2 Shared Fabrication Tools
Making digital fabrication tools affordable enough to be placed on every desktop is just one
way of democratizing the opportunity to create. Sharing the tools in local communities is a
great alternative. Making high-end manufacturing tools available around the corner is the
idea behind FabLabs and shared Maker Spaces like TechShops in the USA. This way, the
physical tools are not situated on everyones desktop, but close enough to people to make
traveling an option. Large initial costs for the machines are substituted for costs per time
unit of usage. An advantage is that the shared machines will be used more than in a
situation where the user is the owner, making the payback time of the fast-developing
machines way shorter. Besides, around shared Maker Spaces communities are created
quite automatically, where knowledge, inspiration and ideas are shared and evolved.

Another way of sharing tools is via digital fabrication services in which the machines are
controlled by the owner offering the service. This makes digital fabrication available to users
without the time, knowledge or opportunity to control the machines. Users upload a file via
the web and after a few days the physical products are shipped at their doors. These
factories in the cloud make even the highest-end tools available for everyone with an
internet connection and a credit card. It is comparable to online photo print services often
offering more quality and possibilities than a desktop photo printer. The most well-known
examples are Ponoko, MFG.com and Shapeways. Ponoko and MFG dont own most of their
production machinery. Instead, they are just a software layers between consumers and
fabrication shops. Ponoko is focusing on the consumer market offering small scale
fabrication services for batched of one. MFG does a similar job for companies, and offers a
broader variety of fabrication techniques also non-digital. Users upload a CAD file and let
the bids come to them. It is the worlds largest custom manufacturing marketplace, mostly
used by small companies. Shapeways is a spinoff company of Philips, Eindhoven (the
Netherlands) and has just opened a new large high-end 3D printing factory in Queens (New
York). Besides these three global operating service companies, there are large amounts of
locally operating alternatives. Similar companies exist for electronics (printed circuit boards),
fabrics, and even ceramics. Now, we are not only able to order physical things online, but
make physical things online as well.
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Democratization
of manufacturing
is not only about
the physical tools
(the factory), but
also about the
availability of
easy-to-use
digital tools
supporting the
manufacturing
process (the
back and front
office).

In addition to the democratization of the new digital fabrication tools, old manufacturing
processes are being democratized as well. J ust a decade ago, producing something in
China required you to have good connections there, own a big company and produce in
large quantities. Now websites like alibaba.com give everyone access to Chinas complete
manufacturing landscape. On this website it is possible to buy virtually every component or
part you can imagine, at every quantity: from one square meter of fabric till 10.000 custom-
made circuit boards. Anybody with an idea and a little expertise can set assembly lines in
China into motion with nothing more than some keystrokes on their laptop. A few days later,
a prototype will be at their door, and once it all checks out, they can push a few more
buttons and be in full production, making hundreds, thousands, or more. They can become
a virtual micro-factory, able to design and sell goods without any infrastructure or even
inventory; products can be assembled and drop-shipped by contractors who serve hundreds
of such customers simultaneously. (Anderson 2010)

2. 2. 3 FABRI CATI ON SUPPORTI NG WEB- BASED TOOL S
Democratization of manufacturing landscape is not only about the physical tools (the
factory), but also about the availability of easy-to-use digital tools supporting the
manufacturing process (the back and front office). Making a product is one thing; designing,
improving, sharing, marketing, selling and distributing it is at least as important in order to
discover post-institutional social models for manufacturing.

Describing all recently developed digital tools supporting small scale manufacturing would
become a thesis in itself. Instead, I will pick out only one new web-based entrepreneur tools
that is characteristic for the possibilities of all.

Kickstarter offers a platform that allows people with a great idea to find financial support
from a large amount of micro funders. This way of achieving financial support is called
crowdfunding, a derivative of the term crowdsourcing: a process that involves outsourcing
tasks to a distributed group of people. The idea proposed on Kickstarter can be anything;
from an artistic project to a new invention of a physical product. Anyone can submit a
project to Kickstarter, if a project doesnt make its fund-raising goal, it doesnt receive any of
the pledge money. Kickstarter projects can offer whatever incentives; in case of physical
product this often includes the new product itself.

But Kickstarter is more than just a financial model. It commits backers to fund or purchase
something even before it is available. This eliminates the need to take out a loan and
creates the ultimate marketing tool. It turns consumers from a source of sales revenue into
a source of investment, marketing, ideas and solutions.

22 of 117
The Next
Industrial
Revolution is the
shift from current
world of
consumers to a
society of
producers where
everyone has the
ability to produce
energy,
information, food
and commodities,
based on
networks of
shared
knowledge and
digital fabrication
devices
2. 2. 4 REDEFI NI NG THE NATURE OF ECONOMY
So while the rest of us are having our heads turned by the latest buzzy social media thing,
sites like MFG.com are quietly going about their work of turbocharging the worlds real
economic engine, making stuff faster, cheaper and better. (Anderson 2012)

The next industrial revolution is not merely about the digital fabrication techniques
themselves some even exist for decades but also about the effects of making these
high-end techniques available to everyone. It is the shift from current world of consumers to
a society of producers where everyone has the ability to produce energy, information, food
and commodities, based on networks of shared knowledge and digital fabrication devices.

The 20
th
century the Fordian principles have democratized consumption, in the 21
st
century
production of information, knowledge and physical goods will be democratized as well. And
where the 20
th
century was one of up-scaling and globalization, we will see a reverse of this
trend in the 21
st
century: global sharing of knowledge and ideas but local small-scale
customization and production of goods.

The 20
th
century has left us with multiple crises, of which the crisis of inequality is a
prominent one. The richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year
2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. In contrast,
the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth. (Davies
2006). Globalization and up-scaling has led to a society in which the economical and
inventive power is in the hands of a few marked-leading companies. The next industrial
revolution has the potential to democratize this power by putting it in the hands of 7 billion
people in ways described in 2.2.1 - 2.2.3. This will potentially redefine the nature of our
economy and may lead to a more equal society.

It [the shift from consumers to producers] breaks everybodys boundaries. For many
organizations it is illegal for them to equip ordinary people to create rather than consume
technology. (Neil Gershenfeld TED talk) Transformative change happens when industries
democratize, when theyre ripped from the sole domain of companies, governments, and
other institutions and handed over to regular folks. (Anderson 2010)

2. 2. 5 TAPPI NG THE L ONG TAI L OF TAL ENT
Build a better mousetrap and the world is supposed to beat a path to your door. Its a lovely
thought, one that has inspired generations of American inventors. Reality, though, has fallen
somewhat short of this promise: Build a better mousetrap and, if youre extremely lucky,
some corporation will take a look at it, send it through dozens of committees, tweak the
design to make it cheaper to manufacture, and let the marketing team decide whether it can
23 of 117
The Long Tail of
Talent will exploit
all good ideas,
instead of only
those of a few
lucky inventors.

be priced to return a profit. By the time your mousetrap makes it to the store shelves, it is
likely to have been fine-tuned and compromised beyond recognition. (Adler 2011)

In the next industrial revolution however, innovation would not no longer cater to the elite.
Everyone with talent can bring his or her ideas to the market. The ideas themselves will be
valued, regardless of whether the person behind it has a professional degree, good
connections or the appropriate age. This principle will exploit way more talent and utilize all
good ideas, instead of only those of a few lucky inventors.

This currently unexploited, hidden talent is defined by Chris Anderson as the Long Tail of
Talent; In many fields there are a lot of people with skills, ideas, and time to help than there
are people who have professional degrees and are otherwise credentialed. Exposing this
latent potential, both of professionals looking to follow their passions rather than their
bosses priorities and of amateurs with something to offer, is the real power of open
innovation. (Anderson 2012)

2. 2. 6 SATI SFACTI ON OF THE CREATI VE PROCESS
Fed by the advertising industry and the absence of higher purposes, people in western
societies continuously seek for pleasure in buying mass products. Once such desire is
fulfilled, the brief moment of happiness will give way to a new desire. People are being
seduces to consume more, because it is in others interest to do so. This current model of
addictive consumerism has a destructive effect on our planet. With current pace, more
resources will be extracted from the earth in the next 20 years, than in the whole humanitys
history. (Arthus-Bertrand 2009)

Transforming people from consumers to producers of their own designs has the potential to
unleash an enormous creativity boost. Designing, creating and personalizing products gives
much more satisfaction than just buying them. Creativity and imagination will fill the void left
behind by current lack of higher values of human happiness. The physical objects designed
specifically by and for you have much more value than a mass produced item. Products with
this much value are not discarded as easy as their mass produced counterparts. The
satisfaction found in the creative process of designing and making can help moving beyond
current model of addictive consumerism to a post-consumerism model.

In the Dutch television program Zomergasten, Lidewij Edelkoort, a renowned trend
forecaster, talked about the promise of creativity in shifting to a post-consumerist society;
Something is going to change in this century because we are going to work together, and
we are going to see consistency. That would be a huge breakthrough to a different society.

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Instead of
spending vast
amounts of
computers,
energy and
communication
around the world,
you can spend
much less to
send the means
to create it.
(Neil Gershenfeld in principal voices 2007)

A society in which living =learning =sharing =borrowing. (...) Ultimately, I think that if we
would inspire everyone with creativity, really everyone and everywhere - so if we would
even teach creativity in primary schools, in economic schools, in the army ... - you would
see that the fear disappears, because if you are creative then you may find yourself always.
That gives a huge boost to the moral. And if you would educate everyone in creativity, it
stimulates the imagination. And if the imagination is very stimulated, in the future, we will
have less need for physical things. Then we do not to possess anymore, then you can
simply imagine. (Edelkoort 2012)

2. 2. 7 DEMOCRATI ZI NG I NNOVATI ONS I N HUMANI TARI AN AI D
The problems of addictive consumerism in western countries are in stark contrast to the
problems of developing nations face. Undeveloped countries regularly suffer from lack of
food, shelter, energy, computation and communication. The current model of humanitarian
aid is mostly based on shipping finished products from countries of abundance to countries
of shortage. With todays digital fabrication machines however, it has become possible to
ship not the finished products, but the tools to create them. Knowledge and innovations can
be shared globally while the development, customization and production happens locally.

Neil Gershenfelds Fab Lab project demonstrates the enormous potential of this 21
st
century
model. Instead of spending vast amounts of computers, energy and communication around
the world, you can spend much less to send the means to create it. Energy, communication,
computation: just to say the words they sound big. They are being tackled as billion dollar
mega projects, top down. Fab Labs is tackling them from the bottom up. (Neil Gershenfeld
in principal voices 2007)

These Fab Labs do not only help with the growth of food, technology, businesses, but also
the people. Well known for example, are the stories of high-end western tractors imported in
undeveloped countries before being left unused because they did not matched local
traditions or because local people did not have the knowledge to use and repair them.
Instead of importing the products, Fab Labs import the knowledge and let people locally
learn, develop and produce physical goods that are exactly right for them.

The message coming from the Fab Labs is that the other 5 billion people out there arent
just technical sinks; they are sources, they are real opportunities to harness the inventive
power of the world. It breaks every organizational boundary we can think of. People locally
developing solutions to local problems. () These fab-labs do serious problem solving;
instrumentation for agricultural in India, steam turbines for energy conversion in Ghana, high
gain antennas for communities in Afghanistan... And in turn businesses started to grow. And
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Sooner or later
amateur
designers will be
empowered with
the same high
quality tools and
resources to
design and
construct
buildings as
professional
designers.
However, there is
a potential for
architects to
maintain and
even enhance
their position by
rethinking the
design process
altogether.

finally these labs started doing inventions. We are learning more from them than were
giving them. Real inventions happen in these labs. (Neil Gershenfeld TED talk)

A collection of digital fabrication machinery connected to the web is a powerful and flexible
design and production system that is able to adapt to the unknown-unknowns and
enhances bottom-up innovation, even in the most undeveloped places.

2. 2. 8 DEMOCRATI ZI NG I NNOVATI ONS I N ARCHI TECTURE
2.2.8.1 Changing role of architects; focus from design to process
Sooner or later amateur designers will be empowered with the same high quality tools and
resources to design and construct buildings as professional designers. New communication
technologies, user-friendly design tools and new digital manufacturing techniques will
dramatically change the role of architects. For current professionals, it may sound like a
threat that the conditions making them unique will soon be available to everyone. But there
is a potential for architects to maintain and even enhance their position by rethinking the
design process altogether. It is not so much the design itself, but the process behind it that
will dramatically change in the 21
st
century; creating both potential and threats for current
professionals. Good architecture schools understand this and changed their focus from
design to process.

Daniel Smithwick, an architecture student at MIT, describes this shift in his Master-thesis:
Throughout my academic training I have come to realize that good design has become
commoditized meaning, it is no longer enough on its own. Needless to say, this might
cause a design student to become disillusioned in his career choice it certainly did for me.
I recall a well-respected design studio critic remark that good designers are a dime-a
dozen and rather than concern ourselves with the function of a design or its form, she
asked us to pursue in our studio work new ways of structuring the design process as a
whole. For architectural designers to move forward into the 21
st
century and innovate within
the profession, we need to reconsider the organizational framework for how design takes
place. (Smithwick 2009) 20 21 22

2.2.8.2 Changing roles in the 90% of architecture currently build without architects
Most of the architecture around the world is built without interference of architects. Most
studies even estimate this percentage being larger than 90%. In undeveloped countries
designing and building architecture without interference of a professional is more rule than
exception. And even in developed countries it is quite common for homeowners to do the
maintenance and renovation of the interior themselves.

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New tools offer
great possibilities
for architects to
claim a
significant role in
the 90% of
buildings
currently created
without them.

New web-based tools combined with new digital fabrication devices will enhance this do-it-
yourself production. Users will be empowered with the ability to more directly and positively
affect the physical world around them. The Ikea Kitchen Builder may be extended in an Ikea
Office Builder that delivers flat-packet to-be-assemble packages at the front door. The free
Google Sketchup software may be extended with plugins to automatically transform a rough
solid 3d model into complete construction information. The open-source software world may
inspire open-source hardware initiatives that make designing, adjusting and printing your
own Linux House a piece of cake. The current maker movement has the potential to
transform from a few geeks printing their own iPhone stands into everyone fabricating their
own highly essential stuff, including buildings.

At the same time, these new tools offer great possibilities for architects to claim a significant
role in the 90% of buildings currently created without them. In light of scarcity of resources,
the predicted effects of global warming and the predicted population growth, such role is
more than welcome. The knowledge and quality an architect can offer is still far greater than
that of the average collection of non-professionals. The professional expertise can improve
quality and stimulate the innovation required to take up the challenges the world is facing
today.

Regarding the type of architecture currently built without professionals, the extended role of
the architect will be different from the typical client-architect relationship, in which an
architect provides professional services to a client through direct dialogue and fee-based
interactions. Rather than designing a one-off architectural solution, new digital tools for
design and production offer the ability to design a complete architectural solution-range. The
user or client of architecture will be central in the design process. Within the design-space,
nonprofessional designers could be offered to customize and personalize the design and
production process. Because the architects contribute to multiple design solutions at once,
the fees for its work can decrease dramatically and become affordable for those currently
not able to benefit from professional expertise.

The exclusivity of the act of designing will disappear. The architect will no longer be a single
genius, busy in his isolated studio; a romantic notion that many architectural schools still
hold. Architects should extend their skillset to develop solution ranges, and focus more on
the process and the systems instead of a single end product. And clients will be increasingly
central to the value chain, not just as a source of revenue, but as a source of ideas,
solutions, investment and marketing.

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21
st
century
innovations in
architecture will
not mean coming
up with yet
another never-
been-built
gimmick or
conceptual
experiment.
Instead,
innovation will
focus on the
process of
designing and
the process of
making,
embracing new
technologies,
new cultural
shifts and new
challenges.
2.2.8.3 Changing roles in the 10% of architecture currently build by architects
In relation to the 10% of architecture that architects are currently involved with, their role can
change in multiple ways. In some of this 10% projects like individual houses and small
offices it is likely that architects lose some control to non-professional designers in ways
described above. However, the more public and complex of these 10% projects like
theatres, hospitals and stations will likely remain the field of professionals. It is
questionable weather amateurs designers are willing to engage themselves with these
public works they do not own. Besides, the complexity of these projects requires a level of
expertise that even professional architects acquire only after years of experience in the field.
Stricter rules, new challenges and more demanding clients have increased the complexity of
these projects during the last decennia. Instead of losing control to amateur designers, this
trend led to a loss of control to more specialized professionals instead. Chapter 2.7 and 2.8
will discuss how digital design and digital fabrication has the potential for architects to
reclaim their former role as master-builders in these kinds of projects.

21
st
century innovations in architecture will not mean coming up with yet another never-
been-built gimmick or conceptual experiment. Instead, innovation will focus on the process
of designing and the process of making, embracing new technologies, new cultural shifts
and new challenges.

2 . 3 MA SS CUST OMI Z A T I ON
2. 3. 1 DEFI NI TI ON
Today, our industries no longer have to be a slave of mass production, repetition, and
sameness. A great advantage of digital fabrication is it does not depend on quantity to be
cost-effective. Technologies like water jet-cutting, 3d printing and CNC-milling make it
possible to achieve high quality and low-cost production without the need to produce in
series. It is just as easy and cost effective for a CNC milling machine to produce 1000
unique objects as to produce 1000 identical ones. (Kolarevic 2003) Combined with a digital
design system and digital supply-chain management that support similar flexibility, digital
fabrication technologies make the production of unique elements as efficient as the
production of identical ones. This flexibility allows for mass-customization; a substantial
change from the conventional method of mass-production where repetition was the basis of
economy.

2. 3. 2 CUL TURAL PRODUCTI ON

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At this time, in
this world, Fords
one size fits all,
no longer makes
for a successful
product, project,
or service. () In
this century we
desire choice,
expression,
individuality, and
the ability to
change our
minds at the last
minute.
(Kieran and Timberlake 2004)
At this time, in this world, Fords one size fits all, no longer makes for a successful
product, project, or service. () In this century we desire choice, expression, individuality,
and the ability to change our minds at the last minute. (Kieran and Timberlake 2004)

Mass-customization is able to offer just that. Rather than settle for limited choices offered by
industry, clients are able to claim an active role in the design process to achieve exactly
what they want. Creativity was constrained by the need to sell in large numbers. (Adler
2011) Now creativity is able to flow freely we can expect unconstrained diversity. The
internet offers a place for every idea and every vision, digital fabrication gives us the tools to
bring this diversity to our physical world. Mass customization is about cultural production as
opposed to the industrial output of mass production.

More innovation, in more places, from more people, focused on more narrow niches.
Collectively all these new producers will reinvent the industrial economy, often with just a
few thousand units at a time but exactly the right products for an increasingly
discriminating consumer. For every Foxconn with a half-million employees making mass-
market goods, there will be thousands of new companies with just a few targeted niches.
Together they will reshape the world of making. (Anderson 2012)

2. 3. 3 OTHER I NDUSTRI ES
A lot of companies already grasp the concept of mass-customizations. Millions of products
are offered with slight to full differentiation. Panasonic bicycles customized to individual
riders measurements, Dell Computers with millions of variations, Nike shoes in custom
colours with custom texts, Levis jeans manufactures from body measurements taken by a
scanner in its stores

In some of these examples customization is achieved with smart supply chain management
and a few standardized components, but they show the increasing need for tailored
products, and the additional money clients are willing to pay for the exact product of choice.

2. 3. 4 MASS CUSTOMI ZATI ON I N ARCHI TECTURE
Eventually, the principles of mass-customization we currently find in consumer products
industry will be applied to the building industry as well. Architecture is particularly suitable
for mass-customization because it is very specific to site conditions, climate, culture,
personal preferences etc. These always present differences vary on both micro and macro
scale and work against the repetition and sameness of mass-production. Diversity is
inherent to good architecture. We already find a lot one-off highly customized buildings
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We need to
produce a
metadesign that
we can adapt or
changing
circumstances.
Im convinced
that this is the
wave of the
future
(Knight 2003)

today, but until now it was not possible to combine this differentiation with automated
production.

A production system that supports mass customization should be combined with a design
process that supports similar differentiation. Computer programs that provide a digital
framework for mass customizable designs are discussed in paragraph 4.3. According to
Terry Knight, professor at MIT, there is a demand for that [digital frameworks for mass-
customization] now in architecture firms because we need to have designs that will be
suitable for different contexts, but are within the same general family. So we need to
produce a metadesign that we can adapt or changing circumstances. Im convinced that this
is the wave of the future. (Knight 2003)

2.3.4.1 Consequences for architecture
The result can be an architecture that perfectly fits its local conditions and the personal
preferences of its users. PV roof panels can be individually shaped to efficiently harvest the
sun. Windows can be positioned to offer the greatest views. Floor plans can be completely
adjusted to personal preferences without additional costs. Structural components can be
uniquely shaped and sized to address structural loads in the most optimal way. The building
envelope can be easily adapted to perfectly fit even the most unusual plot shapes. New
cities will become like forests, in which every tree is different but at the same time part of an
orderly system of species.

2.3.4.2 Consequences for clients
Clients with small budgets no longer have to settle down for options offered in catalogues
but can profit from the same flexibility currently only offered in processes with direct
architect-client dialogues. Built-to-fit high-quality architecture will become available to a
broader segment of society. Greg Lynns Embryologic Houses are an early example of
mass-customizable individual house designs produced by differentiation achieved through
parametric variation.

Mass-customization in architecture means clients can get higher quality more innovative
designs because they share the costs for design and innovation with hundreds or even
thousands. The First Industrial Revolution applied this principle of sharing design costs to
many industries. Hardly anyone can afford the man-hours required to design a car that is
produced in batches of 1, but because cars are produced in series, the costs for high quality
design and innovation are shared by many. The Next Industrial Revolution offers the cost-
sharing principles of series combined with the customization possibilities of batches of one.

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The problem the
world needs to
solve is to build a
1-million-
inhabitant city
per week for the
next 20 years for
$10,000 dollars
per family.
(Aravena 2011)

2.3.4.3 Consequences for architects
The possibility to design customizable series instead of one time solutions offered by
combining digital design and digital production has a seemingly drawback for architects.
Fewer architects are able to design more architecture, resulting in termination of
employment. On the other hand, designing customizable series has the potential for
architects to extend their role to the other 90% of architecture currently designed without
them (see chapter 2.2.8.2). It is questionable whether the second effect is able to
compensate the first. Looking at the numbers, the amount of work for architects is greater
than ever before; By 2030, the population of the world living in cities will have increased
from 3 to 5 billion, with 2 billion of these living below the poverty line. The problem the world
needs to solve is to build a 1-million-inhabitant city per week for the next 20 years for
$10,000 dollars per family. (Aravena 2011)

2 . 4 DI GI T A L CRA F T , ORNA MENT , A EST HET I CS
2. 4. 1 REDI SCOVERY OF ORNAMENTATI ON
The 20th century rationalities of manufacturing dictated geometric simplicity over complexity
and the repetitive use of low-cost mass produces components. The logics of standardization
and prefabrication drove the Modernist Movement to the beliefs that there should be no
applied ornamentation. Architects such as Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
worked on the principle that form follows function. Adolf Loos argued in his manifesto
Ornament and Crime that ornament is economically inefficient and that the lack of
ornament is a sign of an advanced society. (Loos 1929, republished 1998)

However, today ornament seems to become an acceptable addition to the buildings form
again. "The notion that uniqueness is now as economic and easy to achieve as repetition
challenges the simplifying assumptions of Modernism and suggests the potential of a new,
post-industrial paradigm based on the enhanced, creative capabilities of electronics rather
than mechanics." (Slessor 2000)

2. 4. 2 MI CRO MASS- CUSTOMI ZATI ON
Todays ornamentation is different from the decorative styles and patterns used before
modernism that was based on historic references and artistic styles. Digitally-driven
production processes in architecture not only bring mass-customization to building level, but
to detail level as well. If cities become like forests, building components become like leaves;
all could have a slightly different shape, size and orientation.

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The notion that
uniqueness is
now as economic
and easy to
achieve as
repetition
challenges the
simplifying
assumptions of
Modernism and
suggests the
potential of a
new, post-
industrial
paradigm based
on the enhanced,
creative
capabilities of
electronics rather
than mechanics.
(Slessor 2000)

Even the smallest details could be mass-customized to allow for optimal variance in
response to differing local conditions in buildings. Digital Fabrication machinery is able to
offer almost unlimited complexity without compromising the efficiency and economy of
production. Also on this smaller scale, new algorithmic techniques are fully in development
supporting the richness and variety of design.

2. 4. 3 CAL CUL ATED AESTHETI CS
Advanced digital processes not only make the design and production of ornamentation
easier, but also inspire its very form. Computer fabrication has opened a realm for
architects to perceptually heighten and make visible the nature of this accretion through
constructed repetition and difference. The subtle variation of a system of elements, the
transformation of recognizable materials, and the visceral response, no less, to viewing the
result of intensive material accumulation have been digitally redefined into a vocabulary by
which architectural language is transformed. () The results are extraordinary intricate
patterns, filtered light, or evocation of abstracted images at mural scale and all achieved
through the aggregation of simple building materials. (Iwamoto 2009) 7a

In addition to the professional, industrial, and economic benefits associated with CAD/CAM,
its achievable visual effects have caught the attention of many progressive architects, like
Alisa Andrasek, Mark Burry, Bernard Cache, Mark Goulthorpe, Michael Hensel, Greg Lynn
and Lars Spuybroek.

Some digital experiments in architecture contain a level of visual complexity that would
never have been achievable before the digital era. The scripting embedded in this modern
ornamentation triggers the desire to unravel the logics and links behind the nonstandard
forms. Mathematical code transforming into physicalized substance could result in an
intellectual elegance that goes far beyond the capacity of human brains.

2. 4. 4 PERFORMANCE BASED VARI ATI ON
In architecture the computational power invented in the digital age has a potential way
beyond producing moods or aesthetical effects along a surface. Scripted appearances could
be a result of maximizing performance features in architecture. Environmental forces,
mechanical forces, the use of space and economical aspects could all be digitally analysed
and result in local variety of substance.

Mathematics in design is most often associated with its visual manifestation in geometrical
surfaces and elements. The finely tuned ambient qualities of a space, necessary for

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A function has
been found for
ornamentation
and patterning,
merging beauty
with intellectual
satisfaction.
environmental performance, may not be so apparent, but can involve the application of
many branches of mathematics. (Tsigkari, Davis et al. 2011)

Zaha Hadids Civil Courts is one of the many recent examples in which Computer generated
digitally fabricated patters follows as a result of performativity. The variety in orientation and
aperture of faade elements is based on environmental forces playing on the outside of the
building, and the desirable environment within.
(http://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/madrid-civil-courts-of-justice/)

A function has been found for ornamentation and patterning, merging beauty with
intellectual satisfaction. Renewed interest in performance optimizations and the aesthetical
possibilities of digital technology promote a new style of intellectual engineering elegance in
architecture.

2 . 5 L OCA L PRODUCT I ON
2. 5. 1 L OCAL DESI GN I NTERVENTI ON
At its introduction, digital fabrication was only profitable for large-scale companies with
expensive machinery in heavy industry and large-scale production. But CNC machines have
been downscaled and optimized to fit virtually any scale of production. Today, digital
fabrication machinery could act as the ideal small-batch production facility for small
workshops or individuals.

With small scale local production it is no longer necessary to have large factories where
products are made before being distributed around the world. Essentially, the products
travel most of their journey at light-speed as digitally stored data. Digital design is global;
physical production is local.

Flexible manufacturing has become the wave of the future. And better yet, networked,
flexible manufacturing shows great promise for breaking through the walls of the old
corporate system and becoming the basis of a fundamentally different kind of society.
(Carson 2010)

Dozens of small machine shops could be located near their customers, like in the workshop
society of the pre-Industrial era. CNC production offers the same advantages over
traditional craft production; flexibility, reduced startup costs and a location near customers.
These modern factories could be networked to manufacture products according to (semi-)
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Networked,
flexible
manufacturing
shows great
promise for
breaking through
the walls of the
old corporate
system and
becoming the
basis of a
fundamentally
different kind of
society.
(Slessor 2000)

open-source design principles. The flexibility of digital fabrication and the position of this
machinery near users allows for mass customization based on local design intervention.

The average centralised large-scale factory does often produce products cheaper than
small-scale local workshops or home manufacturing places. But factory costs are only first
costs and can therefore not be compared with home costs. Between first costs and final
costs of a large-scale factory we have overhead costs of administration, interest on capital,
distribution costs, warehouses costs and retailing profits. Making a true comparison will
show that in many cases small scale production is able to surpass mass-production in both
efficiency and costs.

Local micro-manufacturing is ideally suited for the creation of buildings. Because of their
size, decentralized production of buildings is favourable over centralized production as this
eliminates the need for great delivery systems and excessive infrastructure. The typically
small batch-sizes of buildings mostly one-of-a-kind products require a flexible production
strategy; offered by digital fabrication. The input for this differentiation comes from the local:
the (micro) climate, the direct surroundings, the clients preferences Placing design and
fabrication in the same contextual space as use allows for the possibilities of local design
intervention. In a way, this is comparable to traditional house construction where building
supplies are delivered to the site as stock material for carpenters to process with hand
based tools.

2. 5. 2 PRODUCTI ON BACK FROM EAST
In the new industrial revolution, the trend to locate production on the wrong side of the world
distanced from both customers and engineering knowledge may be reversed. Chris
Anderson argues that digital fabrication machinery minimized the financial gap between
production in low-income countries and in the West;

Western companies can buy KUKA robots [digital fabrication machines] as cheaply as
Chinese companies can. The labor component of products such as cars is falling rapidly as
automation takes over, making the usual labor arbitrage economics less relevant. The raw
materials plastics, bauxite (aluminium ore), even lithium are sold on the global market,
and everyone pays more or less the same price. Whats left is the cost of land, electricity
and taxes. Those are still more expensive in the West, but the gap is far narrower than it
was with labor. With the rise of the robotic factory, the multicentury global trade flows toward
cheaper workers may be coming to an end. (Anderson 2012)


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One proposal
that has great
merit is that of
rebuilding our
economy around
smaller scale,
locally-focused
organizations
that provide just
as high a
standard living as
people now
enjoy, but with
far less energy
and resource
consumption.
(J ohnson 2005)
At some scales, manufacturing in huge Chinese factories may continue to be an
unbeatable answer. But at other scales, making things close to home, with minimal delays
and maximum flexibility, can be a better choice. And with more automation, the economic
gap between manufacturing in China versus manufacturing in the United States is
shrinking. (Anderson 2012)

2. 5. 3 CL OSI NG RESOURCE CYCL ES
The transformation of global mass production to local mass customization will ease the
closure of our resource cycles. As the production and repair of our physical goods takes
place in the same locations as their use and disposal, non-renewable materials could be
easily recovered and re-used. Moreover, the new industrial revolution typically decreases
the costs for development, transport and marketing of products, making the costs for
materials comparably more expensive - a strong incentive to recycle.

Some people, I am afraid, see lean as a pathway to restoring the large scale manufacturing
giants the United States economy has been famous for since the past half century. () The
cheap fossil fuel energy sources that have always supported such production operations
cannot be taken for granted any longer. One proposal that has great merit is that of
rebuilding our economy around smaller scale, locally-focused organizations that provide just
as high a standard living as people now enjoy, but with far less energy and resource
consumption. (J ohnson 2005)

2 . 6 SHA RI NG, O. S. COL L ECT I VE I NT EL L I GENCE
2. 6. 1 DI GI TAL BL UEPRI NTS OF PHYSI CAL OBJ ECTS
Were just finding so many people with such interesting inventions and such great ideas:
sharing that is where I see this going. (Neil Gershenfeld in principal voices 2007).

Digital sharing is more obvious and easier because of the direct link between atoms and
bits. As all construction information of digitally fabricated objects is digital, it can easily be
transported over the internet. So while fabrication can happen locally on the desktop or in a
Fab Lab, knowledge can be shared and developed globally. Blueprints of designs can be
spread like MP3s and PDFs.

2. 6. 2 OPEN- SOURCE HARDWARE
Currently we have the successful principle of open-source-software development that
produced for example Linux, Firefox and Apache. By connecting our digital world to our
physical world, with digital fabrication, we create the possibility for open-source-hardware.
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Open source
software projects
are object
lessons that
teach us that
users can create,
produce, diffuse,
provide user field
support for,
update, and use
complex
products by and
for themselves in
the context of
user innovation
communities.
(Hippel 2005)

Open source software projects are object lessons that teach us that users can create,
produce, diffuse, provide user field support for, update, and use complex products by and
for themselves in the context of user innovation communities. (Hippel 2005)

Open source hardware democratizes physical product development. It creates the
possibility for bottom-up innovations that can be shared globally. Open source hardware
development is able to make use of all design intelligence from professionals and amateur
designers of all ages, in all places and from all backgrounds.

The diffusion of knowledge cannot happen if is innovation is proprietary. Outdated ideas
regarding intellectual property often act as barriers for spreading innovation. Copyrights can
even last for more than a century. Some things ought to be patented or copyrighted to
reward the hard work behind innovation. However, innovations in clean energy en medical
science for example, could be sold to those who can afford and shared with those who
cant. Alternatively, the rights could be reserved for a shorter period of time, or only some
rights could be reserved. Creative Commons (CC) licenses are standard licenses that let
ideas spread without fees, but prevent others to make profit out of it.

2. 6. 3 THE NEW O. S. BUSI NESS MODEL
Until now, our manufacturing industries as opposed to our service industries seem
untouched by the effects of our digital age. Businesses creating physical products have
largely ignored the potentials and threats created by bits. Chris Anderson argues the next
industrial revolution will narrow the gap between current hardware and software companies:
At its core, it [the new manufacturing company] has to incorporate all the skills and learning
of traditional manufacturing companies tight quality control, efficient inventory
management, and supply-chain management so that it can compete with them on a basic
price and quality. But it also needs to incorporate many of the skills of Web companies in
creating and harnessing a community around its products that allow it to design new goods
faster, better, cheaper. In short, it must be like the best hardware companies and the best
software companies. Atoms and bits. (Anderson 2012)

Erik von Hippel gives three ways how such new manufacturing company is able to harness
the capacity of users in the product-development process (Hippel 2005):

(1) Produce user-developed innovations for general commercial sale and/or offer
custom manufacturing to specific users.

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The new
manufacturing
company must be
like the best
hardware
companies and
the best software
companies.
Atoms and bits.
(Anderson 2012)
(2) Sell kits of product design tools and/or product platforms to ease users
innovation-related tasks.
(3) Sell products or services that are complementary to user-developed innovations.
Firms in fields where users are already very active in product design are
experimenting with all these possibilities.

2. 6. 4 EXAMPL E PROJ ECTS
2.6.4.1 Quirky
Quirky is an example of a startup that combines both potential of hardware companies and
software companies in one business. Quirky is a website that uses the crowd to develop
better products. Hundreds of people contribute to every Quirky product; from concept
design, to voting for variations and contributing to solutions. Anyone can submit an idea,
which costs ten dollars, after which community members select the best ideas by voting. In
the design stage, both Quirkys professionals and community members contribute, offer
comments and vote for features, product names and variations. In the last phase Quirkys
engineers make the winning design manufacturable and bring it on the market. Everyone in
this process gets paid; for most of them its just pennies, but the original inventor can earn
thousands of dollars. 30 percent of the sales from Quirky.com and 10 percent from partners
goes to the community. Of that, 35 percent goes to the inventor; the rest goes to others who
helped to improve or select the winning design.

Anderson argues a business model like Quirky makes use of the long tale of talent in a fun
way: The whole feels like a game. You dont need to have any ideas of your own to
participate and feel as though youre helping create things, or at least improve them. And it
suits everyone from words people (names and taglines) to visual thinkers (design). Top
influencers participate in dozens of projects and can earn thousands of dollars. It can be
addictive, they report. Partly its the act of improving ideas, but equally its the gamble that
the product you vote for will ultimately be made and become a big hit. {Anderson, 2012
#698}

2.6.4.2 Open Source Cars
During the last years a few similar open source car projects aim to spread the open source
ideas in the real (physical) world. Great communities of developers and drivers invent
mobility anew and together. Most promising are OScar, Local Motors and Wikispeed.
Local Motors already released its street-legal 430 horse power Rally Fighter for $90.000.
The Wikispeed project creates a totally different vehicle: an ultra-efficient 42km/ltr (109
MPG) sports car for a modest $25.000. Thanks to a large community, the development and
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Wikispeed is a
successful open-
source hardware
project. A great
community
developed an
ultra-efficient
42km/l (109 MPG)
sports car priced
at a modest
$25.000 in just
three months - an
achievement that
traditional car
manufacturers
could not even
dream of.

production of the first prototype took only three months an achievement that traditional car
manufacturers could not even dream of.

2.6.4.3 Global Village Construction Set
Open Source Ecology is founded by Marcin J akubowski, who became dissatisfied with the
remoteness of his scientific carrier, and turned back to the earth as a farmer and social
innovator. I finished my 20s with a PhD in fusion energy, and I discovered I was useless.

At Factor E Farm in rural Missouri, Open Source Ecology is creating the Global Village
Construction Set - the blueprints for simple fabrication of everything needed to start a self-
sustaining village. It is a high-performance, modular, do-it-yourself, low-cost platform - that
allows for the easy fabrication of the 50 different industrial machines that it takes to build a
small, sustainable civilization with modern comforts.

Marcin J akubowski believes that only by opening the means of production can we all lead
self-sustaining lives without sacrificing our standard of living. Open Source Ecology is
accelerating the growth of the Open Source Economy; an economy that optimizes both
production and distribution while promoting environmental regeneration and social justice.

2. 6. 5 POTENTI AL FOR ARCHI TECTURE
2.6.5.1 Open Architecture Network
Thinking about Open Source in relation to Architecture directly brings Cameron Sinclairs
Open Architecture Network in mind. His TED-prize winning idea was to share knowledge of
humanitarian projects in the form of an Open Architecture Network in order to work on the
worlds greatest problems. The large-scale disasters we face are so profound, their
momentum so fierce, that unless we put to use the energy and creativity of every person of
good will, we cannot possibly overcome them. (Sinclair 2011)

However brilliant this idea is, its specific implementation has shown to contain some major
flaws;

(1) In The Open Architecture Network, each design is very specific for a certain
culture, client, program, material availability, site condition and climate. Its
relevance for other projects is therefore limited. A set of adaptable solution
spaces would have much more value than a collection of once-applicable specific
solutions. In this sense, the Open Architecture Network does not utilize the full
potential offered by the digital revolution.


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Only by
empowering
everyone and
spreading
innovation, we
are able to make
the transitions
necessary to
overcome the
crises ahead.
(2) The idea Behind The Open Architecture Network is that new designs will profit
from knowledge gained in old designs. However, in the current model there is a
great amount of design-build iterations of similar projects needed in order to make
use of this collective knowledge. Besides, retrieving the knowledge requires a
thorough analysing and reviewing tool that goes far beyond the current 0 to 5 star
rating system. In the Open Architecture Network, contributing to existing designs
is not possible apart from giving negative or positive feedback. This way, the
uploaded projects cannot evolve and take advantage of knowledge from the
whole community before being realized. The Open Architecture Network model is
like trial and error, while a more scientific way of sharing, analysing and evolving
knowledge would not only produce faster, but also higher quality results.

(3) Finally, the documentation of the Open Architecture Network projects is not
standardized and often incomplete, making comprising and reproduction
impossible. Like in architectural magazines, most project data contains a set of
photos and some technical rasterized drawings. The next industrial revolution
will make it possible to create a direct link between the digitally shared information
and the physical output. Apart from the documented end result, this requires the
actual construction information included in the form of blueprints. These blueprints
could be customized, improved and realized with a few clicks.

Empowering users in the design and construction process of architecture has great
potential. Working with both professionals and amateurs combines the best of both.
Architecture defined as an individualistic endeavour that is divorced from the contribution
and inspiration of others does not fit with the opportunities created by the digital and next
industrial revolution. Only by empowering everyone and spreading innovation, we are able
to make the transitions necessary to overcome the crises ahead.

2 . 7 I NT EGRA T I NG DESI GN & CONST RUCT I ON
2. 7. 1 HI STORY OF SEPARATI ON
2.7.1.1 Architect used to be both Designer and Builder
For centuries, being an architect also meant being a builder. Architects were not only the
masters of spatial effects, but were also closely involved in the construction of buildings.
The knowledge of building techniques was implicit in architectural production; inventing the
building's form implied inventing its means of construction, and vice versa. The design
information was the construction information- one implied the other. (Kolarevic 2003)
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Part architect,
part builder, part
product and
building
engineer, and
part material
scientist, the
master builder
integrated all
elements of
architecture in a
single mind,
heart, and hand.

Until the end of the middle ages, these master builders were in charge of all aspects of
building. They had the central, most powerful position in both the design and construction
process of buildings and facilitated the smooth flow between both. Their knowledge of
making not only allowed them to conceive the design of buildings, but also gave them the
opportunity to specifically formulate the construction sequence and engineer building
practices. (Garber 2009)

Part architect, part builder, part product and building engineer, and part material scientist,
the master builder integrated all elements of architecture in a single mind, heart, and hand.

2.7.1.2 Separation through enhanced communication
The tradition of master builders, however, did not survive the cultural, societal and
economic shifts of the Renaissance. Leon Battista Alberti wrote that architecture was
separate from construction, differentiating architects and artists from master builders and
craftsmen by their superior intellectual training. The theory was to provide the essence of
architecture, and not the practical knowledge of construction. (Kolarevic 2003)57-58

This elevation of architects over master builders created the need for enhanced
communication between architects and builders. The medieval master builder was
continuous present on site and relied on direct verbal communication with craftsmen for
seamless exchange of information at all phases of building. The invention of perspective
and orthographic drawings eliminated the need for architects to supervise the construction
of the buildings they designed. Besides drawings, the use of large-scale models was
another new way for designers to convey their ideas. These models were usually large
enough to be entered and inspected by clients. They showed not only special implications,
but also contained information about materials and construction techniques.

2.7.1.3 Separation trough contract documents and new specialists
The rifts between architecture and construction started to widen dramatically in the mid-
nineteenth century when ''drawings" of the earlier period became "contract documents."
Other critical developments occurred, such as the appearance of a general contractor and a
professional engineer (first in England), which were particularly significant for the
development of architectural practice as we know it today. The relationships between
architects and other parties in the building process became defined contractually, with the
aim of clearly articulating the responsibilities and potential liabilities. The consequences

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Out of sheer
necessity, the
designers of the
digitally-
generated
blobby
architecture
became closely
involved in the
digital making of
buildings.
were profound. The relationship between an architect (as a designer of a building) and a
general contractor (as an executor of the design) became solely financial, leading to what
was to become, and remain to this day, an adversarial, highly legalistic and rigidly codified
process. It is the biggest obstacle to change today. () As architects placed more and more
layers beneath themselves, the distance between them and the construction site increased.
The design was split from the construction conceptually and legally. Architects detached
themselves fully from the act of building, unintentionally giving up the power they once had,
pushing the design to a side-line, and setting the profession on a path of increasing
irrelevance in the twentieth century. (Kolarevic 2003)

2. 7. 2 FI L E TO FACTORY
2.7.2.1 A Fortunate Effect of Digital Experimentation
During the last 1,5 centuries great invention has occurred in the gap between architecture
and construction. Digital practices showed to have potential to create a seamless
connection between design and making. The experiments in digital design, intensified from
the mid 1990s with the introduction of blob-architecture, created designs that could not be
built in regular ways. Existing building contractors were not used to the non-orthogonal and
non-standard shapes and thought the realization of these designs impossible or, at least too
risky. The answer came from came from automotive, aerospace and shipbuilding industries
who already adopted to a digitally driven constructing process. The architects discovered
they had the digital information that could directly be used in fabrication and construction to
drive the computer-controlled machinery, making the time-consuming and error-prone
production of drawings unnecessary. Moreover, roughly the same digital information could
be used to produce scale models giving valuable feedback. So, out of sheer necessity, the
designers of the digitally-generated "blobby" architecture became closely involved in the
digital making of buildings.

2.7.2.2 Paperless Process
The further separation between architects and builders created the need to further
externalize information. Today, the communication between architect and builder requires
thousands of drawings for each mid-sized project. The early experiments with digital
processes in architecture showed us that when architects and builders work closely together
in a digital- design and construction process, the need to externalize information can be
eliminated. Geometry extracted from the same three dimensional model used in the design
process can directly control digital fabrication and assembly machines. This direct link
between design and construction promises to bridge the gap between architecture and
construction that existed for half a millennium.

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The
amalgamation of
what were, until
recently,
separate
enterprises has
already
transformed
other industries,
such as
aerospace,
automotive and
shipbuilding, but
there has yet to
be a similarly
significant and
industry-wide
impact in the
world of building
design and
construction.
(Kolarevic 2003)
As communication among various parties increasingly involves the direct digital exchange
of information, the legacy of the twentieth century in the form of drawing sets, shop
drawings and specifications, will be inevitably relegated to the dustbin of history. (Kolarevic
2003)

2. 7. 3 I NTEGRATI ON OF DI SCI PL I NES
2.7.3.1 Integration of Disciplines in Other Industries
The enhanced communication between architects and builders invented in the
renaissance was only one step to the gap between designing and building. Many new
disciplines introduced in the 19
th
and 20
th
century further separated the architect and the
builder; the general contractor, the sub-contractor, the process engineer, the material
scientist... As the responsibility of all these actors is legally separated, most architects are
today fully detached from the act of building.

All these highly separated disciplines could potentially be merged just like in industries
comparable to architecture. Digital processes of production challenges architects to work
together with fabricators as one legal entity. Being an architect will also mean being a
builder. The amalgamation of what were, until recently, separate enterprises has already
transformed other industries, such as aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding, but there has
yet to be a similarly significant and industry-wide impact in the world of building design and
construction. That change, however, has already started, and is inevitable and
unavoidable. (Kolarevic 2003)

In these fields [the design and fabrication of automobiles, airplanes, and ships], the process
engineer has triumphed, while in building the architect continues to decline. The architect
remains content, apparently, to focus on the appearance of things, while the process
engineer goes beyond appearance into the deepest substance of making to invert the
historic, craft-based relations between cost and time, on the one hand, and scope and
quality, on the other. For the process engineer, the act of design has extended beyond the
assembly line to the complete life-cycle of products. While the word of architecture has
grown ever more wasteful, disposable, splintered, and specialized, the process engineer
flourishes in the fluid integration of makers by dissolving, not reinforcing, boundaries
between thinkers and makers. (Kieran and Timberlake 2004)

2.7.3.2 Integration in Architectural Practice
Frank Gehry is one of the pioneers of using digital technologies to control the building
process from beginning to the end. In 2002, Gehry Partners created Gehry Technologies to
further develop Digital Project, a version of CATIA adapted and specialized for the unique

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The same
unique digital
model that is
used for design
and analysis can
be sent directly
to digital
fabrication
machines to be
physicalized as
prototype or as
final product on
full scale. This
way, the gap
between design
and making that
has existed for
over centuries is
finally removed.
demands of complex architectural projects. Digital Projects integrates numerous aspects of
the construction process, including building codes, and mechanical, structural, and cost-
criteria aspects. Gehry Technologies now acts as a consultant to Gehry Partners, as well as
to other architects, assisting with digital construction and management. The company is
revolutionary in that it expands the role of the architect to include oversight of the building
and construction-management process, much as it was in the age of the master builder. In
addition to Gehrys, architectural offices such as Foster & Partners, Nicholas Grimshaw, and
Bernhard Franken are forging similar integrated project-delivery methods for large, complex
projects. (Iwamoto 2009) Gehry Technologies essentially eliminates the many layers that
exist between the architect and the act of building. Similar digital design and production
strategies are explored by numerous younger but more innovative offices.

2.7.3.3 Consequences for architecture
A direct link between the digital and the physical would improve efficiency and greatly
reduce the mistakes occurred during the transformation and interpretation phases. By some
estimates, there is a potential for building construction to become 28-40% more efficient.
(Kolarevic 2003) Fabrication times could decrease, along with production cost and waste.
Thinking about fabrication processes and possibilities in already the earliest stages of
design will increase overall quality. Features of existing production processes could be
explored or new ones could be developed. In light of the efficiency of processes, and the
enhanced possibilities, it would not be surprising that these integrated processes will
become mainstream in the creation of architecture of the 21
st
century.

2. 7. 4 THE MASTER BUI L DER: ARTI ST + CRAFTSMAN
The next industrial revolution will provide the opportunity to fully integrate the act of
designing and building. The same unique digital model that is used for design and analysis
can be sent directly to digital fabrication machines to be physicalized as prototype or as final
product on full scale. This way, the gap between design and making that has existed for
over centuries is finally removed. Art and craft, and prototype and final product can become
part of one blurred process.

The knowledge of how to make both everyday objects and highly-skilled creations is
one of humanitys most precious resources. (Charny 2011) The modern master builder
represented by one person or by a small group of people should possess a combination of
both design and manufacturing capabilities. Knowing the availability and capabilities of
digital fabrication machines enables architects to fully integrate art and craft. For architects,
this knowledge allows them to become much more directly involved in the fabrication
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Fabrication is
not a modelling
technique, but a
revolution in the
making of
architecture. The
new
structuralism
designates the
cultural turn
away from
formalism and
towards a
material practice
open to
ecological
potential.
(Oxman 2010)

processes, as they create the information that directly controls the digital fabrication
equipment.

Intelligence in the art of making allows master-builders to merge the traditional linear
process of form-structure-material. Structure and material are conceived as early in the
design process as form, allowing each aspect to fully influence the other. No longer a
posteriori, the design engineer is now up-front at the earliest generative stage, bringing to
the fore the design content of materialization and fabrication technologies. It is characteristic
of the cutting edge of contemporary engineering that the process has developed new media
that mitigate between the optimisation of structural designs and the enhancement of the
architectural concepts. If the ability to accommodate material considerations early in the
design process is added to this emerging dynamic, it appears to be developing as an almost
perfect model of design collaboration and is ultimately relevant to all classes of architectural
practice. () The new structuralism integrates structuring, digital tectonics, materialization,
production and the research that makes this integration possible. (Oxman 2010)

Digital Fabrication allows architects to take a more involved role in the materialization and
construction of their buildings, similar to the medieval master builders overseeing the entire
project from conception to completion. This new integration could mean a shift away from
the trend that has marginalized the architects role to nothing more than appearance. It
provides a head-clearing rationale to a profession beleaguered by the light headedness of
form without matter. () The emergence of research practice is establishing the new design
sciences of materialisation that are the threshold to the revolution of architectural
technologies and material practice. The new structuralism focuses on the potential of these
design processes to return architecture to its material sources. Architecture is, at last, back
to the future. It may also be reformulating itself as a profession. With the emerging
technologies of fabrication, the current impact of material upon architectural form has
become one of the prominent influences in architectural design. Fabrication is not a
modelling technique, but a revolution in the making of architecture. The new structuralism
designates the cultural turn away from formalism and towards a material practice open to
ecological potential. This is an architectural design that is motivated by a priori structural
and material concepts and in which structuring is the generative basis of design. (Oxman
2010)

2 . 8 I NT EGRA T I NG A RT & SCI ENCE
2. 8. 1 HI STORY OF SEPARATI ON
2.8.1.1 Two Major Gaps in Architecture

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The separation
between
designing and
construction is
not only one gap
currently
impeding the act
of creating
buildings. During
centuries, the act
of designing is
itself further
splintered in art
the stronghold
currently left to
architects and
science now
the realm of
many new
specialists.
As described in 2.7.1, centuries ago the architect used to be a master builder; controlling
the whole design and construction process. Partly due to new communication methods
invented in the Renaissance (drawings with perspective and large physical models), a
separation was created between craftsmen and architects. Digital fabrication a direct link
between our digital and physical worlds has the opportunity to fully re-integrate the act of
designing and building. For architects, this could mean a more involved role in the
materialization and construction of their buildings, similar to the medieval master builders
overseeing the entire project from conception to completion

The separation between designing and construction is not only one gap currently impeding
the act of creating buildings. During centuries, the act of designing is itself further splintered
in art the stronghold currently left to architects and science now the realm of many
new specialists.

2.8.1.2 Increased Fragmentation
The separation between art and science in architectural practice started with the
educational split of architects (Ecole des Beaux Arts) from engineers (Ecole Polytechnique)
in the early 19
th
century. This evolved in many more separate educational programs,
followed by separate licensing and insurance requirements, and separate professional
organizations. Material scientists, product engineers, detailing agencies, managers,
developers, influential contractors, process engineers and many other specialists have all
claimed a part of the full develop-design-delivery process.

This increased fragmentation and increased specialisation was mainly caused by increased
complexity of building design and construction. As new materials, techniques and processes
were invented, new engineering consultants arose. Architects were increasingly losing
control over the design and decision making process, giving up authority over almost every
field. At the beginning of the 21
st
century, the role of architects in most building projects has
been diminished to nothing more than appearance.

2.8.1.3 Architects Lost in Visionary Culture
Architectural production over the past decade has been marked by a strong affection for
the image. The seductive aesthetics of digital architectural modelling and visualisation have
often dominated over attention towards materiality and building construction. Ambivalent
images were, and still are, produced with digital tools. They display architectural visions that
neglect the constraints of the physical laws and the constraints associated with building
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Building must
make huge
changes in light
of rapidly
accelerating
urbanisation,
increased
depletion of
limited resources
and the resulting
emissions.
Currently most
architects are
unable to add
significant value
in creating
intelligent
solutions to
these problems.

construction. Yet we know that architecture is not, and cannot be, just an image. (Weinand
and Hudert 2010)

Instead of fighting against their marginalized position, most architects and architectural
schools have developed an approach of subjective storytelling and a fetish for seductive
images and crazy icons. This essentially disassociated from the rest of the building industry.
By allowing architecture to become reduced to the current degree and by relinquishing
responsibility for assembly, product development, and materials science to specialists, the
architect has allowed the means and methods of building to move outside the sphere of
architecture. This splintering of architecture into segregated specialties has been disastrous.
Once, there was a seamless integration of the constituent elements of building through the
person of the master builder, who had control over the materials, products, and construction
of architecture. Today, there is little interaction among these disciplines, particularly
between architect and builder on the one hand and product engineer and materials scientist
on the other. (Kieran and Timberlake 2004)

2.8.1.4 Potential for Architects
Given the present unemployment under architects in the western world and given the
extreme challenges humanity is currently facing, there is both a strong need and a great
potential to dramatically change the role or architects. Instead of producing symbols, icons
and stories driven by originality and a culture of the image architects could use their
enormous creative potential to develop intelligent solutions to the extreme challenges
humankind currently faces. These challenges require more emphasis on performance of
architecture instead of originality. They could reclaim their role as master builders by
integrating the skills and intelligences at the core of architecture. (Kieran and Timberlake
2004)

Building must make huge changes in light of rapidly accelerating urbanisation, increased
depletion of limited resources and the resulting emissions. Currently most architects are
unable to add significant value in creating intelligent solutions to these problems. Very few
for example, succeed in creating structures that achieve the simple triple-zero rating (zero
energy consumption, zero emissions and zero waste creation).

At a time when our population and the consequent demands for space and services
continue to grow, when cities expand and, as is frequently suggested, buildings account for
more than half of the energy consumed in the world, clearly both the number and nature of
roles for the architect are increasing. However, these can be characterized as roles that the
architect could and should not play in glorious isolation, but rather by working closely with

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In the field of
architecture,
superhuman
computing power
can be exploited
in scientific
design
processes;
embodying our
buildings with a
level of
intelligence that
could not exist
before the digital
era.
other specialists. This would not only make it possible to develop integrative design
proposals, but also enable architects to play more influential roles in the development of
inspired proposals for the design, construction, operation and management of buildings.
(Carter 2010)

Architects can make use of the digital revolution to increase their influence in the design and
production process. They can reclaim their former role of master-builders not only by
integrating the architect and the builder though digital fabrication, as described in 2.7.4 but
as well by acting as a central hub connected with all engineers and scientists. Such fully
integrated team will be able to examine all relevant aspects for a building and its users
across its entire life cycle. It would then be possible for architects to dedicate themselves to
the most important challenges of this century.

2. 8. 2 HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA
2.8.2.1 The Petabyte in Architecture
Increased complexity of building design and construction went hand in hand with increased
amounts of data that can be used in the design and construction process. The digital
revolution created huge potential by combining massive amounts of data called the
petabyte with digital tools to scientifically analyse the information, test hypotheses and
optimize solutions. In the field of architecture this superhuman computing power can be
exploited in scientific design processes; embodying our buildings with a level of intelligence
that could not exist before the digital era.

2.8.2.2 Hard and Soft types of data
A database informing the design process can accept information from a variety of sources.
Around 98% of the planning, calculation, optimization, tendering and marketing in
construction is currently already based on digital data. (Hauschild 2011) 45 This could be
complemented with intelligence from both specialists and amateur designers playing a role
in the interdisciplinary design process.

Other, more qualitative types of data that are currently not fully explored and thus contain
hidden potential could be incorporated as well. One can think about intelligence from
history. Built work is one of the most valuable sources of intelligent design solutions.
Architects tend to find solutions from their own experience (their intuition) or a limited
amount of analog documented references. A structured, analysed and inclusive database of
built projects or experiments could select all knowledge and experiments relevant for a
certain setting. This historical material could also include soft forms of data such as
aesthetic strategies, representational aspects, political agendas, sociocultural dimensions
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Let us not forget
that the best
computational
tools do not offer
solutions for
design. They
merely hint at
this, and it is the
responsibility of
the designer to
ensure quality
and coherence in
the design
process.
(Schwitter) 122

and user experiences. Another not fully explored source of knowledge or inspiration relevant
for architecture is nature. Biomimicry is the examination of nature to emulate or take
inspiration from in order to solve human problems. A field especially relevant for
architecture, as nature deals with more or less the same requirements while outperforming
human creations at almost every level.

2. 8. 3 DI GI TAL TOOL S FOR ARCHI TECTURE
2.8.3.1 Past and Future Digital Tools for Architecture
Over the last two decades, the digital revolution has already had some impact on the design
process, but much of this work has occurred either in visualization or in conventional
documentation and management. Only recently we see the more advanced analytical and
generative digital design tools that have the potential to open up new conceptual exploration
in architectural design. Together with yet-to-be-made design tools these can provide
dynamic processes of design and creation that truly push the boundaries of quality and
complexity in architecture

2.8.3.2 Limits of Digital Tools
As functional as these tools can be, they will always remain just a tool and never take over
the process itself. Let us not forget that the best computational tools do not offer solutions
for design. They merely hint at this, and it is the responsibility of the designer to ensure
quality and coherence in the design process. Finally, it should be evident that todays
performance-based approach may well be tomorrows prescriptive recipe for a solution. The
only constant in our world is change. And as engineers we need not resist this critical
process of improvement of the built environment, but we must seek to think outside of the
box for solutions for tomorrows problems solutions that ultimately ensure the highest
design quality for our clients. (Schwitter)

2. 8. 4 BI M, ONE I NTEGRAL MODEL
2.8.4.1 One Integral Model
ABuilding Information Modell (BIM) is a single, intelligent, virtual model that satisfies all
aspects of the design process, from conceptual design to production. The model is
generated, controlled and managed by the whole team of designers, engineers and
fabricators. The challenge is (and has been for more than three decades of computer-aided
design) how to develop an information model that facilitates all stages of building, from
conceptual design to construction (and beyond, for facilities management), and provides for
a seamless digital collaborative environment among all parties in the building process.
(Kolarevic 2003)

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All complex
human
endeavours,
including
architecture,
require a
regulating
structure to
organize the
inherent chaos
that underlies its
making. Our
regulatory
structures today
are information
management
tools.

In the building information model all participants in the design and construction process can
add their own layers. The model could be connected with various databases (2.8.2) and
tools for design, analysis, simulation, fabrication and construction (2.8.3). As the model
brings all relevant information together in one structured place, it can lead to highly informed
design proposals. All complex human endeavours, including architecture, require a
regulating structure to organize the inherent chaos that underlies its making. Our regulatory
structures today are information management tools, not the idealized mathematical
constructs of classical architecture. Modern humanism is communication, not geometry.
Communication tools allow architects and our collaborators to conceive, discuss, explore,
and understand every detail before we produce it. The process is accessible to all, including
the user and client. Architects are no longer limited to the fragmentary representation of
physical ideas; we can now fully pre-form them. This composite understanding of
architecture before it actually becomes substance offers a deep understanding of the
elements of architecture that affect our daily lives. Refabricating architecture leads toward a
new humanism. (Kieran and Timberlake 2004)

2.8.4.2 Threats of BIM
Used in the right way, BIM could become a powerful tool leading to innovation in
architecture and in the process of its making. However, it could also dilute the architects
influence though collaboration or impose a rigidity on the design process that constrains
creativity. As proponents of BIM we need to acknowledge the implications of the massive
expansion of data and move on from a performative analytical model to a more
comprehensive conceptualisation of information modelling that opens up creative options
leading to new qualities and relationships, and does not just streamline a process. It should
expand the ways we use data rather than merely generating taxonomies or collecting an
envelope of constraints. Some of the best designs have been those that have broken the
rules and gone beyond technical optimisations or the prescribed constraints of clients and
municipalities. Rather than limiting our choices, information modelling can open us up to the
new way of thinking and its massive potential. (Ottchen 2009)

2.8.4.3 Contractual Fragmented Responsibility in BIM
Working together in integrated design teams on a single model automatically leads to issues
regarding responsibility. The coordinator of the production of the information model is
responsible for the work of other members in the design team. One solution is sharing this
overall responsibility between a few main members of the design team. In design-build
firms, architect and contractor work together under one legal framework of shared
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Instead of
finding a form in
the conceptual
design phase and
optimize it later
together with
engineers, digital
technologies
allow broadly
defined building
performance to
become the main
guiding design
principle.

responsibility. Another option could be outsourcing the coordination of the production of the
BIM model, as happens in Gehrys office. However, it is questionable whether this
significant responsibility should be outsourced to a new role of data manager, while it has
the potential for architects to regain their influence in the design process. It is this role the
information master builder- that represents the greatest opportunity for architects to return to
their master-builder roots. The architectural profession will seal its fate if it abandons the
overall process and information integration and management to construction and
engineering firms, some of which have already realized that the emerging dynamic,
geographically distributed, digital networks of design and production expertise are the future
mode of operation for the building industry. (Kolarevic 2003)

2. 8. 5 PERFORMATI VE ARCHI TECTURE
2.8.5.1 Form Driven to Performance Driven
By integrating the design and analysis of buildings around an information model, the
architects and engineers roles are combined into a relatively seamless digital collaborative
enterprise from the earliest, conceptual stages of design. These technologies allow for a
medium in which notions of creativity and innovation merge through performance
operations, cost efficiencies, and material and system simulations that are iterated digitally
throughout the design process. () Buildings can be understood according to how they
perform as opposed to what they look like. (Garber 2009) Instead of finding a form in the
conceptual design phase and optimize it later together with engineers, digital technologies
allow broadly defined building performance to become the main guiding design principle.

2.8.5.2 More than Optimization
J ust like sources of knowledge and inspiration (2.8.2.2), performative issues include much
more than just quantitative (hard) types of data. In this new information- and simulation-
driven design context, the paradigm of performance-based design can be approached very
broadly its meaning spans multiple realms, from spatial, social and cultural to purely
technical (structural, thermal, acoustical, etc.). The increasing emphasis on building
performance from the cultural and social context to building physics is influencing
building design, its processes and practices, by blurring the distinctions between geometry
and analysis, between appearance and performance. (Kolarevic and Malkawi 2005)

Performative architecture is not just a way of finding the most practical solution by merely
optimizing certain parameters. Performance-related aspects can be found in abundance
and often have conflicting means and goals. Determining and balancing both quantitative
and qualitative - performative aspects in a creative and effective way is key challenge for
architects.

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Performance-
related aspects
can be found in
abundance and
often have
conflicting means
and goals.
Determining and
balancing both
quantitative and
qualitative -
performative
aspects in a
creative and
effective way is
key challenge for
architects.

2.8.5.3 Performativity and Beauty
A shift from a design process driven by originality and visual aspects to one driven by
performative issues does not negate aesthetic qualities. On the contrary; to quote Richard
Buckminster Fuller: When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty. But when
I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. This approach is similar to
nature, where beauty is never a purpose in itself the only purpose is performance and
still, we generally conceive nature as extraordinarily beautiful.

However subjective issues of aesthetics are, multiple innovative design offices have proven
that performance driven processes can lead to the most visually attractive results. Weve
already seen this with engineering architects of the 20
th
century, focussing on structural
performance, like Pier Luigi Nervi and Eladio Dieste. Today we see this in some
performance driven offices like Grimshaw Architects and Foster & Partners.

2.8.5.4 Designers Responsibility
Given the increased problems humankind is facing today, the shift from iconic to
performative architecture could not only be crucial for the architectural profession, but for
the planet as a whole. Most of problems humankind faces today are clearly linked with
architecture; rapid urbanization, population growth, increased consumption of energy and
resources resulting in climate disruptions and increased impact of natural disasters.
Architects should take their responsibility and use their enormous creative potential to face
these challenges. The digital revolution and the predicted new industrial revolution could
play key roles in the development of new research, tools and processes with which to create
intelligent solutions.

2. 8. 6 THE MASTER BUI L DER: CENTRAL HUB
2.8.6.1 The Architect as the Central Hub
New digital processes for design and construction have great potential to close the gap
between art and science in architecture that started with the educational split between
architects and engineers and has grown ever wider since. By integrating the design,
analysis, manufacture and assembly of buildings around digital technologies, architects,
engineers and builders have an opportunity to fundamentally redefine the relationships
between conception and production. By reinventing the role of a master builder' the
currently separate disciplines of architecture, engineering and construction can be
integrated into a relatively seamless digital collaborative enterprise, thus bridging the gap
between designing and producing. (Kolarevic 2003)
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New information
management
tools allow
architects to
become the
central hub
through which all
information
passes, a spider
in the complex
web, central to all
- highly informed
- decision
making.

The architect can force the integration for the several spun-off disciplines of architecture
construction, product engineering, and materials science all with the aim of reuniting
substance with intent. (Kieran and Timberlake 2004) New information management tools
allow architects to become the central hub through which all information passes, a spider in
the complex web, central to all - highly informed - decision making. Actively participating in
all phases of design and construction, this master-builder constantly finds the right balance
between (often conflicting) requirements and desires of all separate disciplines. In such
thoughtful decision making process, the architect will have much more control, and
therefore, more responsibility and more power than in its current marginalized position.

The architect can once again become the master builder by integrating the skills and
intelligences at the core of architecture. This new master builder transforms the singular
mind glorified in schools and media to a new genius of collective intelligence. Todays
master architect is an amalgam of material scientist, product engineer, process engineer,
user, and client who creates architecture informed by commodity and art. By recognizing
commodity as an equal partner to art, architecture is made as accessible, affordable, and
sustainable as the most technically sophisticated consumer products available today.

2.8.6.2 Refusing Change means Becoming Irrelevant
Our clients are insisting on change. It is no longer acceptable to report year in and year out
that architecture costs more, takes longer to build, and yields lower quality. We risk
irrelevance if we continue to refuse change. By contrast, we invite a return to our former
privileged position as master builders when we become the agents of change. (Kieran and
Timberlake 2004)

Computer-based methods of design and production will lead to increased quality and
efficiency. Therefore, the technologically more advanced firms will be capable of providing
much higher and more comprehensive levels of service. Even the smaller innovative
architects offices can give themselves competitive advantages over large competitors. As
digital methods of design and production are fully in development, the penalty for sticking to
traditional models of design will increase dramatically over time.

Only by taking the lead in the inevitable digitally driven restructuring of the building industry
will architects avoid becoming irrelevant. (Kolarevic 2003)

2.8.6.3 New Skills

52 of 117
Educational
institutions are
the ones who
have the power
(and, hopefully,
the foresight) to
prepare future
generations of
professionals for
the emerging
practices of the
digital age.
(Kolarevic 2003)
The activities of a modern master-builder require a very high level of ability. In education of
architects, the emphasis should be placed on developing the characteristics of this new
professional. Rather than imposing an architectural vision from the earliest conceptual
stages of design, a vision is gradually developed as a fusion of all possibilities and
capacities across the entire spectrum of architecture. Educational institutions are the ones
who have the power (and, hopefully, the foresight) to prepare future generations of
professionals for the emerging practices of the digital age. (Kolarevic 2003)

Apart from teamwork skills and talent belonging to the current skillset of architects, the
new digital integration of design decisions, cost implications and construction feasibility
requires broad knowledge of all disciplines in the periphery of architecture. This knowledge
should be just enough in order to navigate in the collective pool of knowledge available in
the whole design team. Trough communication with all the specialists, the master-builder
gains the more advanced knowledge and analysis results specifically relevant for decision
making in the certain project. An architect knows something about everything. An engineer
knows everything about one thing. (Frederick 2007)

The role of architects will extend way beyond focus on the appearance of things. Process
sets the stage for outcome. The new architect understands this and shifts from a product
driven to a process driven mindset. This process includes all those who own, use and build
architecture, as well as those who have specific knowledge in fields like material science,
software engineering, digital fabrication, building economics and environmental control.
Digital tools for design and production transform the highly pluralist group of actors and the
highly complex flow of data between them in a seamlessly integrated process. Steering and
managing this collective intelligence gives the modern master-builder the opportunity to
regain its greatest impact on the quality of design, its constructability and its cost.

2.8.6.4 New Rewards
Digitally restructuring the design and production process will also mean rethinking the level
of compensation for the various team members. The new master-builder will have much
more control, more influence and more responsibility than in architects current marginalized
position. With greater responsibility comes a greater reward. Individuals capable of
performing such a complex and demanding role are rare and will therefore be sought after.
The added economic value they [modern master-builders] can provide should elevate their
salaries to the equivalents of those of top lawyers and doctors. (Gauchet 2009)

Greater rewards for architects could come from savings through enhanced communication
and decreased risk in the integrated digital process. For example, the costs for the
53 of 117
production of shop-drawings could be eliminated with a seamless integration of digital
design and digital fabrication.

2 . 9 OVERV I E W OF POSS I B L E EF F ECT S
The 3d matrix below shows possible positive and negative consequences for clients,
architects and architecture as a result of enhanced influence of digital design and digital
fabrication in the creation of architecture.

CLIENT
ARCHITECT
ARCHITECTURE
+
+
+

54 of 117

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57 of 110 Digital Design and Fabrication for Ultimate Challenges | Thesis Pieter Stoutjesdijk | Jan 2013
The design process developed in this research is applicable for the 90% of architecture
currently build without architects (2.2.8.2). It makes optimal use of the digital revolution and
the next industrial revolution in an innovative way. This generic design process is tested
and specifed via a realistic use case (chapter 4), and connected with a digitally fabricated
building system (chapter 5).
3 DESIGN PROCESS
Digital Design and Fabrication for Ultimate Challenges | Thesis Pieter Stoutjesdijk | Jan 2013 58 of 117
2
ND
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
1
ST
2
ND

USE MARKETING
USE
MARKETING
TRANSPORT
PRODUCTION
F A B L A B
TRANSPORT PRODUCTION
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION -> LINEAR ECONOMY
Modern Dictatorship
Today, half of the worlds wealth is in the hands of the richest two percent
of the population (Home Documentary). A few companies control most of
the economy (univ. of Zurich, Nov 2011)
Pollution And Over-Extraction
People are continuously being seduced to consume more, because it is in
others interest to do so. With current pace; more resources will be
extracted from the earth in the next 20 years than in the whole of
humanitys history (Home Documentary).
Money had Disproportional Value
Today, in most global economic process all actors are physically separated;
money is the necessary link between them. Money has been accorded so
much value, that global capitalism is taking over democracy (Naomi Klein,
2007).
Mass Production
Fords one size ts all was driven by the principles of mass production.
Industrial manufacturing relied on standardization and prefabrication
resulting in repetition and sameness.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION -> CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Democratizing Production + Design
The current world of consumers of resources and information will trans-
form in a society of producers based on networks of shared knowledge and
digital fabrication devices.
Closed Cycles
Design, production and use in one place eases the integration of 100%
closed resource cycles. As costs for transport, development and marketing
will decrease; resources become comparatively much more expensive a
strong incentive to recycle.
Ideas have value
Culture, education, research and innovation are inexhaustible resources
that are in the hands of 7 billion people. Initiating, designing, making and
using will becomes part of one blurred process in which money is much
less relevant. Knowledge, creativity and ideas will become more important.
Mass customization
With the combination of digital fabrication and digital computation, the
economy does no longer depend on quantity to be cost-effective. Mass
customization, personalization and variety will replace 20th century rigidi-
ties of production.
The predicted next industrial revolution
in which our digital and physical worlds
merge may radically change econo-
mies from linear to networked ones. This
change will potentially play a key role in
solving the many crises western societies
are currently facing.
CONSEQUENCE SPACE
CLOSED PARAMETRIC
REGULARLY USED PARAMETRIC DESIGN
Architect
Amount of control over end result
Freedom / constraints from process
Client
Architecture
Level of customization possible on large scale
Level of customization possible on small scale
Level of evolution of process + design possible
Level of complexity in design posssible
Level of potential of actors used
Speed of process

++
+
+

+
+
-
++
+
-
Open database + controlled design space
App store
Architect:
Collective group of architects keeps all control on quality, safety and compatibility
Gets advisory role on other issues
Client:
Gains control on compilation, within boundaries set by architects
Able to adjust the components via parameters
Can request new component or add it him/herself
Architecture:
Fully customized
Full evolution of design possible
SOLID 3D AUTOMATICALLY TO 2D
DESIGN SYSTEM OF DDFG (MIT) ; CLIENT UPLOADS / SELECTS SOLID 3D MODEL
Architect
Client

Architecture
Speed of process

--
--
+

+
-
+
--
--
+
CLOSED COMPONENT DATABASE
IKEA KITCHEN BUILDER, EARLY INDUSTRIALIZED HOMES
Architect
Client

Architecture
Speed of process

-
-
+

+
-
-
-
-
+
FULLY OPEN SOURCE
LINUX, OPEN SOURCE HOUSE
Architect
Client

Architecture
Speed of process

-
+
+

++
++
+
+
-
+
OPEN DATABASE + CONTROLLED DESIGN SPACE
APP STORE, EVOLVING OF PROCESS LIKE FOURSQUARE
Architect
Client

Architecture
Speed of process

-
-
+

++
++
++
+
++
+
The fve digital design processes
displayed here have great poten-
tial for the design of the 90% of
architecture currently build without
architects (2.2.8.2). All processes
make use of the digital revolution
and the next industrial revolution
in an innovative way. The possible
consequences for architects, clients
and architecture of each process
are compared with a design pro-
cess that is common today. The ffth
process is a proposal for a design
process that makes optimal use of
digital design and digital fabrication
in order to have overall the most
positive effect for clients, architects
and architecture.
The author of this work decided not to make this chapter public (yet),
as it has potential to become part of an official publication or com-
mercial work.
Please contact the author for more information.
4 USE CASE
In this chapter the generic design process (chapter 3) is tested and specifed via a realistic
use case. This use case is defned in paragraph 1.4 as a result of what might be worlds
most pressing challenges of next decennia: global adaptation to a world with much more
natural violence as a result of human caused climate change. In the feld of architecture this
challenge results in the need for cheap, fexible and quickly realizable post-disaster housing
solutions for the mid- term. These transitional shelters are designed for the (sub) tropics: a
climate region where more than fve of a total of six billion people lived in 2005. The specifc
intervention area in this region is Villa Rosa, a mostly informal settlement south east of
capital Port-Au-Prince in Haiti.
DESIGN BRIEF
URBANISM ARCHITECTURE PROCESS
PROGRAM
The new situation should house at least the
same amount of households as the pre-
earthquake situation.
A South East part of Villa Rosa has been
divided in 7 zones with following number of
households:
Zone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
# h.h. 7 10 11 14 15 13 11 5 17 17
PATHWAYS
Pathways should be overall improved.
1
Easy access to the houses must be
emphasized.
1
Evacuation routes should be planned.
1
Pathways should follow straight lines where
possible, in order to avoid creating bewildering
(and potentially dodgy) areas.
1
COURTYARDS
Every house should have some private outdoor
space situated directly next to the house.
1
The outdoor space should be enclosed for
security reasons.
1
The outdoor space should be at least partly
shaded.
The ideal number of households attached to a
court yard is 1 or 2.
1
SANITATION
There should be 2 latrines for every 3
households.
1
New built structures should be equipped with
a cistern. 2 households could share 1 cistern.
1
Volume size of the cistern should be according
to the number of occupants of each household.
1
Estimated size of a cistern should be based on
30L-90L water usage per person per day, with a
1-month buffer to account for droughts and
heavy rain (the average length of the worst
draughts in Haiti).
2
60 x 5 = 300 L (+/- 150L) per household, per
day2
300 x 30 = 9000 L (+/- 4500L) per household.
2
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
SWM is just as much a management issue as
a planning issue. Training, awareness building
and mobilization needed in community.
1
There should be two different collection bins:
organic waste (to composting) and general
waste (to burning), sized according to number of
residents in each zone.
1
Assuming waste is collected once per 2
weeks, the following quantity of waste per
household (5 people) is estimated:
2
0,22 x 14 x 5 = 15,4 kg trash
2
0,73 x 14 x 5 = 51,1 kg compost
2
PROGRAM
Minimum house size is 18 sq. meters, living
space.
1
Minimum house size in a refugee camp in
tropical climates is 3,5 sq. meters per person.
3
For transitional housing this should be more.
Houses should have the option for extensions;
either on similar level or on top.
FACILITIES
Depending on the household size each dwell-
ing should have at least one or two private
sleeping space(e).
There should be one lockable storage and one
multifunctional space connected with the main
entrance.
Cooking facilities will be placed outside.
DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
The housing solution should be fully customiz-
able to local conditions, like the size and shape
of the plot, slopes in terrain, and direction to the
street.
COMFORT
Passive climate strategies should be used to
bring the indoor climate at locally acceptable
comfort levels.
No mechanical heating or cooling should be
used.
DURABILITY
Focus is on transitional housing (lifespan >5
years), possibly upgradable to permanent homes
(lifespan 20 years).
RESILIENCE
The architecture should be both storm- and
earthquake resistant. Besides, re safety and
termite resistance should be taken into account.
MATERIALS
Materials should come from a renewable or
abundant resource.
The amount of materials should be limited to
reduce the types of connections needed and to
make production and assembly quicker and
easier. No more than three materials should be
used for all structural and non-structural
elements (excluding installations).
OPENNESS OF DESIGN
The design process should be open in such a
way that collective intelligence and collective
creativity will be able to evolve the process and
product over time.
The possibilities created by the digital revolu-
tion should be fully exploited in order to make
such open source design process successful.
OPENNESS OF DESIGN
The production process should support an
open source design process. Therefore, a direct
translation from digital to physical is required.
This is possible with a production process that is
fully based on digital fabrication.
APPLICABILITY OF P. PROCESS
The production process should be universal in
such a way that it can be theoretically applied
everywhere on this planet.
Non-structural elements like stairs, doors,
furniture and window frames should be realiz-
able with the same production process as the
load-bearing elements (walls, oors and roof).
REALIZATION TIME
The design, fabrication and assembly of one
house should take 2 people no more than two
weeks (possible transportation and material
production excluded). (For transitional shelters,
quick realization is less signicant than for
temporary shelters.)
PRODUCTION SITE
Local construction makes it possible to tailor
the design to local conditions and personal pref-
erences without the need of extensive commu-
nication.
Limited transportation to and from production
site is desirable due to usully poor infrastructure
EASE OF PRODUCTION
Besides the digital fabrication machine and its
connected devices, no other electronic tools
should be necessary for production and assem-
bly.
The fabrication laboratory should be installed
in maximum three days and require no more
than one specialist to run beside some
unskilled labourers.
No literacy should be required during a possi-
ble assembly process.
TRANSPORTABILITY OF MACHINERY
The digital fabrication machinery (including
power supply and computer facilities) should be
transportable by common transportation
helicopter and tting in a sea container. (A
Boeing CH-47 Chinook is able to carry a cargo
load of 11,800 kg
4
).
1
Cordaid, Villa Rosa Design Guidelines, Jan 2012.
2
ARUP, Villa Rosa Planning Guidelines, Feb 2012.
3
UNCR, Handbook for Emergencies, Feb 2007: 64
4
US Army Factles, to be obtained from: www.army.mil/factles (accessed: May 2012)
The use case is an actual design task; this
brings the advantage of a highly realistic
design brief. Most programmatic require-
ments are based upon planning guide-
lines from Cordaid and ARUP; both based
upon in-depth feld research.
LOCATION: HAITI, VILLA ROSA
TREES
CORDAID ZONES 01 T/M 10
HAITI // PORT-AU-PRINCE // VILLA ROSA // 1:1000 CODE GREEN: UNDAMAGED
CODE YELLOW: TO REPAIR
CODE RED: FULLY DAMAGED
The earthquake that hit Haiti on
January 12th 2010 caused severe
damage and led to the initiative to
rebuilt Villa Rosa. The studies of
ARUP and Cordaid were focussed
on the ten zones in the south east
corner of the settlement
LOCATION, PUBLIC SPACE
HAITI // PORT-AU-PRINCE // VILLA ROSA PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC SPACE
One of the main problems of Villa Rosas
urban fabric, and that of informal settle-
ments in general, is the lack of clear def-
nitions between public, semi-public and
private spaces.
MOST OF THIS DATA CAN BE AUTOMATICALLY RETRIEVED FROM ONLINE DATABASES BASED ON INTERVENTION LOCATION
SYMBOL PARAMETER, UNIT
Precipitation
(av. monthly)
[mm/m]
Wind direction
(main av. monthly)
[]
Wind speed
(av. monthly)
[m/s]
Relative air Humidity
(7am / 2pm) (av. monthly)
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/haiti/784390-wind.pdf
http://www.southtravels.com/america/haiti/weather.html
(cited 28 February 2012)
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2413
Earthquake risk: high
Relative risk: very high
Advice: resistance - on
Storm risk: very high
Relative risk: very high
Advice: resistance - on
Storm risk: very low (altitude: 300m)
Relative risk: very low
Advice: resistance - off
U.S. National Climatic Data Centre NOAA Satellite
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/haiti/784390-wind.pdf
NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Sciences Data Center.
http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/sse
Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory University of Oregon
http://solardat.uoregon.edu/cgi-bin/SunChart.cgi
[%]
Sun Path
(altitude, azimuth)
[]
Solar Radiation Intensity
(direct / indirect) (av. monthly)
[W/m]
Air Temperature
(av. max. min.) (av. monthly)
[degrees], [C]
Resistance - Earthquakes
(Advice, on / off)
Resistance - Storms
(Advice, on / off)
Resistance - Floods
(Advice, on / off)
VALUE OF PARAMETER SOURCE OF INFORMATION
PARAMETERS - CLIMATE
Mean: 9.2 KT
Calm: 1.8%
Variable: 6.2%
5 10 15 20 25 Knots
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
N
E
S
W
10-year summary: 2000-2010
Port-Au-Prince
Jun-Dec Dec-Jun
6 8 10 12 14 16 18
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
Local Hours after Midnight
S
olar R
ad
iation
In
ten
sity [W
/m
]
PARAMETERS AND THEIR DIRECT INFLUENCE ON DESIGN COMPONENTS
The climate parameters of generic
design process are specifed for the
chosen location. Most of this data
could be automatically retrieved
based upon exact intervention lo-
cation.
VERANDAS
WIND TOWERS OPPOSITE OPENINGS HIGH CEILINGS AND
PLANTING
RAISED FLOORS
E-W VOLUME
N-E OUTDOOR SPACE
BUFFER SPACES
SEPERATE KITCHENS
FUNNEL BREEZES AVOID WIND OBSTACLES
PASSIVE CLIMATE STRATEGIES
>SHADING >ZONING
>VENTILATION >VENTILATION >VENTILATION
>SHADING
>VENTILATION
>ZONING
>ZONING
>ZONING
>ZONING
>COMPOSITION >COMPOSITION
NO SUN
HIGH SUN
LOW
SUN
LOW
SUN
BERNOULLI
EFFECT
CROSS VENTILATION
THERMAL
UPDRAFT
W
E
S
T
SERVING
AREAS
TROPICS
TROPICS
HIGH INTERNAL
MOISTURE +
HEAT LOAD
DISTANCE >6X HEIGHT
OF FIRST OBSTACLE
WIND
EVAPORATION
In the design process, specifying the pa-
rameters automatically result in specifc
design advice and adjustment. In case of
the climate parameters, this design advice
and adjustment consist of climate strate-
gies. The passive climate strategies rele-
vant for the use case are displayed here,
including the parameters these strategies
are strongly related with. This way, it is
possible for the building designer to di-
rectly gain the relevant knowledge in order
to deal most effectively with the weathers
impact on the building. It is an example of
the application of paragraph 2.8 bring-
ing architects current separate disciplines
of Art and Science closer together.
ROOF OVERHANGS BALCONIES
LOUVRES VENTS
THATCH ROOFS
VENTILATED ATTICS
LIGHT MATERIALS LIGHT COLOURS
ZONING
SLIT WINDOWS
VINES / GREEN WALLS AIR CAVITY IN WALLS
PASSIVE CLIMATE STRATEGIES
>SHADING >SHADING
>SHADING >VENTILATION
>INSULATION
>VENTILATION
>HEAT ACCUMULATION >HEAT ACCUMULATION
>ZONING
>SHADING
>SHADING >VENTILATION
HORIZONTAL
VERTICAL
TROPICS:
200mm >
U=0,3 W/mK
EVAPORATION
LOW THERMAL
CAPACITY
HIGH THERMAL
CAPACITY
SLEEPING
LIVING
STORING
EFFECTIVE IN EAST
AND WEST FACADES
MOST EFFECTIVE WHEN APPLIED TO E/W WALLS
7-10% COOLING REDUCTION
EVAPORATION
UP TO 70% OF HEAT ENTERS VIA ROOF
VERNACULAR ARCH. HAITI
Public supplies are favoured over private
supplies because they enhance neighbourhood
interaction
The clusters express the underlying social
networks of the residents. Lakou can mean the
network of people that are involved in the group
as well as the compound they share.
Barriers provide privacy and keep intruders out
while keeping animals and children in. They
often have a decorative function and formalize
the entrance. Barriers should allow ventilation.
Haitian culture requires a delicate balance
between shared and private.
The entrance is the decorative showplace of the
house, mostly symmetrical and lavishly painted.
The decoration often has a mechanical function
as well: bracing, preventing buckling...
Toilets may be shared with a few households.
The toilets used in Haiti require less water but
may be smellier. Therefore, they should always
be connected to the outside.
The space dened as the houses shadow is as
important as any space within. It is the setting for
work, living and cooking.
Food is stored in a storage that is lockable and
raised above the ground, to ensure ventilation
and prevent theft.
The majority of cooking and washing is done
outside, to keep heat and moisture out of the
interior. Better houses contain a second pantry
inside; preferably separated from the main build-
PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY COMMUNAL LIVING ENCLOSURE
DELICATE PUBLIC-PRIVATE
The front porch is both outside and inside. It is
the part of the house were daily life takes place.
The porch always faces the road or access path.
DECORATED ENTRANCE SEPARATE SANITATION
OUTDOOR SPACE SAFE FOOD STORAGE OUTSIDE KITCHEN
The salle is a practical multi- purpose room for
eating and living and sleeping of children. Many
doors allow ventilation and access to the yard
were adults work and children play.
The chambre - or bedroom - is the most private
zone in a traditional house layout. It has fewer
and smaller openings than the salle. Haitians
prefer separate bedrooms for boys and girls.
PORCH CHAMBRE SALLE
STREET PUBLIC
MARKET
PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY
PORCH
INNER COURTYARD
VERANDA
SALLE
BEDROOM PRIVATE
SHARED FACILITIES
SALLE CHAMBRE
The type of components needed in this
specifc use case is not only strongly relat-
ed with its climatological, but also its cul-
tural, technological, and historical context.
These local aspects are evolved over time
in vernacular architecture of which the
most prominent characteristics for Haiti
are collected here.
VERNACULAR ARCH. HAITI
This type was rst used in late 1700s by planta-
tion owners and still belongs to the upper class.
Characteristic is its overall symmetry and its long
porch parallel to the road. The hipped roof is
shaped to resist storms. Usually the oor is
raised several feet above the ground.
The gingerbread housing type was introduced in
the post-colonial period and therefore acts as a
vital symbol for rebuilding Haiti. Characteristic is
its intricate ornament and steeply pitched roofs.
The construction of wooden sheets and beams
has proved to be seismically resistant.
CREOLE HOUSE
The typology is kay houses was formerly used as
slave shack and now symbolizes pride and inde-
pendence. 2-4 rooms long, to be extended at the
back. The triangle in the gable roof is a strong
symbolic element. Originally made from wooden
posts and beams with tatch roof.
KAY HOUSE GINGERBREAD HOUSE
Haitian vernacular architecture
evolved in three types of houses,
each with its own history. Their de-
sign language refects the climato-
logical, cultural, technological, and
historical context and acts as a
guideline in defning the content of
the component database. The gin-
gerbread type highly decorated
and made from wooden sheet ma-
terial perfectly suits the chosen
production process of 2D cutting
planar elements with friction ft con-
nections.
URBAN CONCEPT
WIND TOWERS (2ND LEVEL)
- Placed random to catch Breeze
- Oriented East-West to resist Hurricanes
- Equipped with parabolic troughs to provide
all energy and drinking water of the urban blocks
CLOSED URBAN BLOCKS
- Facade lines close public space
- Each block contains 2 main directions
- Every house has a private outdoor space
- Max depth 5m, 3 sides free (ventilation)
- East-West streets pull the wind downwards
- Undened spaces
- No difference private and public
- FabLab is main centre for rebuilding community
- FabLab will later become hub of local economy
FabLab
EXISTING FABRIC
BUILDING ENVELOPE OF D4.0-D4.3
URBAN MICRO INTERVENTIONS
The urban concept maximizes natural
ventilation, shadow, privacy and physical
barriers between public and semi-public
space. The mostly non-orthogonal exist-
ing building volumes are complemented
with a structure of four building blocks
each based upon two orthogonal grids.
ARCHITECTONIC CONCEPT
One of the building volumes from
the urban concept is designed on
the architectonic level. The knowl-
edge gained in the studies of pas-
sive climate solutions and vernac-
ular architecture is merged in an
innovative concept that perfectly
fts its climatic, cultural, technolog-
ical and historical context. The roof
plays a key role in providing the
three most basic needs of home-
less people;
Shelter large overhangs provide
shading while the funnel-shaped
double layer allows for maximum
ventilation
Electricity the parabolic shaped
roof acts as a mirror in the passive
solar system that generates elec-
tricity in a very low-tech and inex-
pensive way.
Clean drinking water generated
via the passive solar system and
stored in a water bag placed below
the ground foor.
ROOF SYSTEM
NORMAL TROUGH POSITION
MORNING NOON EVENING SUMMER
SEASONAL DIFFERENCES ONLY SEASONAL+HOURLY DIFFERENCES
SPRING/AUTUM WINTER
NEW TROUGH POSITION
NORMAL SOLUTION: ROTATING TROUGH
SEASONAL DIFFERENCES ONLY SEASONAL+HOURLY DIFFERENCES
NEW SOLUTION: MOVING CONCETRATOR
CONCENTRATED SOLAR POWER SYSTEM
DIRECTION OF TROUGH
ADJUSTING SYSTEM TO TRACK SOLAR PATH
N
S
E
W
DESTILATOR TURBINE
GENERATOR STORAGE WASTE
PURE WATER ELECTRICITY
STEAM HOT WATER
RAIN WATER
Generating electricity and clean drinking
water via concentrated solar power is an
existing process that proved to be very
effective in tropical regions. Its low-cost,
low-tech and low-maintenance makes it
ideal for the application displayed here. A
single small-scale unit containing turbine,
generator and distilator can be used for
all twelve troughs in the application area.
Usually troughs in CSP systems are
placed in north-south direction and are
rotated throughout the day. Placing them
in east-west direction loses some efficien-
cy in the mornings and evenings, but re-
quires the troughs to rotate only because
of seasonal differences in sun position.
The required seasonal rotation of the
troughs in Haiti is 19.7 degrees. Instead
of rotating the mirror, only the concentra-
tor is moved. This allows the trough the
roof to be statically fxed to the rest of
the building.
DESIGN 4.2
SECTIONS - HORIZONTAL
SUNPATH DIAGRAM HAITI 21 MARCH
N-E SECTION SUNPATH 21 MARCH
Grid A
Section
Grid B
08:00
05:00
11:00
14:00
17:00
20:00
N
6
0
0
0
3600
2
3
0
0
3400
2
3
0
0
3400
1200
MAX
19.72
The confguration of the design is
based on two overlapping grids of
1200mm; of which one is moved
600mm in all three directions com-
pared to the other.
DESIGN 4.2
Grid A
Grid B
Section
SECTIONS - CROSS
3
3
0
0
2
1
0
0
5
3
3
2
6000
3600
In Haitian culture, the veranda facing
the public street is the most prominent
part of the building. The least prominent
space is located at the back of the build-
ing. Doors on most sides allow for optimal
ventilation.
DESIGN 4.2
Grid A
Section
Grid B
SECTIONS - LONGITUDINAL
8696
6000
8400
2
1
0
1
2
3
7
0
1
8
2
1
1
4
9
1
2
1
0
0
3
3
0
0
The frst foors are located on differ-
ent heights to give the porch a more
prominent character and maximize
ventilation. The frst foor only used
for sleeping and storage is kept at
minimum height to save costs.
5 BUILDING SYSTEM
Were chapter 3 focussed on the process, this chapter focusses on the product the compo-
nents of the FabStore database to be used in the use case of chapter 4. In the development
of this building system several studies helped to fnd the right balance between the following
themes:

Force fow
Simplicity building system
Adaptability building system
Simplicity software
Ease of construction
Waste reduction
Milling time
Aesthetics
As the building system and the design were developed more or less simultaneously, the
designs used to illustrate the sub-reach research in this chapter may differ somewhat - its
versions are marked with the numbers 4.1 until 4.3.
Digital Design and Fabrication for Ultimate Challenges | Thesis Pieter Stoutjesdijk | Jan 2013 of 117
The author of this work decided not to make this chapter public (yet),
as it has potential to become part of an official publication or com-
mercial work.
Please contact the author for more information.
WATER
WASTE
CONSTRUCTION
AIRHANDLING
ENERGY
FINANCE
MOBILITY
COMMUNICATION
SOCIAL
SPATIAL
IDENTITY
Climate
Culture
Terrain
Economy
WATER
FOOD
WASTE
SOCIAL
SPATIAL
FINANCE
CONSTRUCTION
AIRHANDLING
ENERGY
MOBILITY
COMMUNICATION
IDENTITY
We deconstructed
the home into
12 systems
grouped
them into
4 clusters
and observed
how they interacted
through time
The movements of hunter-gatherers follo
a seasonal pattern related to th
availability of food .
Hunter-gatherers liv
in ecological balanc
with the environment
affecting it in ways n
different than larg
animals do.
The look of the shelter is determined by its
environmental context. Local materials blend
the house into the landscape.
The dome is th e
predominant dwellin
shape
Hunter-gatherers live i
small groups of associate
families called a band
There is no division of labour an
decisions are made jointly
Pre-urban indigenous housing is
response to cultural and physica
forces particular to socioeconomi
and physical environment
FOOD
Hunter-gatherer
feel a limited sens
of ownership ove
the wild plants an
animals.
Dwellings are no
used for more tha
a few days
Paleo-Indians used hot springs fo
cooking, refuge and for respite
Hunter-gatherers constructe
primitive dwellings solely o
materials collected in th
immediate vicinity
Nomads spend most of their tim
outdoors so proper clothing is ofte
of greater importance than th
effectiveness of the shelter
Urbanization and
stratication shape
construction
Asian agriculturalists start to us e
terracing, irrigation etc. Occidenta l
agriculturalists start to use the plow ,
add natural fertilizers and rotate crops .
Pipes of lead and bronz e
are used by the Greeks t o
distribute water .
Settled peoples exhibit a division of labor and a notion of
inherited property.
Primitive huts by tribal communities have no
privacy and no division or specialization of space.
Single room huts are clustered
around a central court by semi-
nomadic people. Work and live
occur in several spaces.
Greek homes rene the
division between private
and public spaces and
dene their use.
Primitive food gatherers are constantly on the
move in an endless pursuit of water.
growers outside the city are responsible for food
production. As a result, market places emerge.
Pursuit
of water
Rivers as
arteries
Pursuit
of food
Creation of a
waste infrastructure
Social unit
is family
Space is
enclosed
All space
is communal
Space is
dened
The movements of hunter-gatherers follo w
a seasonal pattern related to th e
availability of food .

Lentils are
cultivated in th e
Middle East.
Corn is
developed in
Mexico.
Major urban civilization s
emerge along the Tigris ,
Indus, Nile, Hwang Ho an d
Yangtze rivers .
Water is now incorporated into the architecture of the home. Waste
is dissolved in water and carried away from the home.
Hunter-gatherers liv e
in ecological balanc e
with the environment ,
affecting it in ways n o
different than larg e

Rice is
cultivated
in India.
The look of the shelter is determined by its
environmental context. Local materials blend
the house into the landscape.
House represents
local conditions
Several families are sheltered in larger communal
houses or in clusters of smaller individual units.
House represents
unity
Early courtyard houses reect the internal
structure of the family.
House represents
family
Social unit
is band
Social unit
is tribe
Multi-storied housing blocks by the Romans extend
vertically where space is scarce.
Food cultures
emerge
Urbanization creates the need for an
infrastructure to deal with waste build up.
Indus Valley Civilization -
First urban sanitation system s
3000 BC
2500 BC
6750 BC
5000 B C
By their very nature, portabl e
dwellings of tribal communitie s
do not leave lasting imprint s
on their environment .

Asians start cultivating an d
harvesting soya beans. .
Major civilizations emerge around rivers. Rivers bring
nourishment to the city and carry away waste.
1500 B C
Rome - With a population of over 1
million, the Romans have to impor t
most of their foods and distribut e
and sell it at special markets .
Invasion of southern parts of Europe by Germa n
invaders bring the heavy-wheeled plow which, alon g
with European farmers adoption of triennial eld
rotation, increases crop yields by at least a third .
1000 B C
Athens - Waste is carried awa y
to municipal dumps at least a
mile outsided the city gates .
The dome is th e
predominant dwellin g
shape.
Dwellings are divide d
into sleeping and cookin g
areas. The generi c
groundplan is circular .
The storage of cultivated food supplies allows greater numbers of peopl e
to live in a given area which ,
in turn, leads to a greate r
concentration of dwellings ,
sometimes clustered int o
villages.
There are inersecting lines dividing th e
Greek house: one divides it into a men s
and a womens section and the other int o
a day and nigh t
section.
Fertile Crescent - City o f
Ur. The essential features o f
the Ur house survived a lifespan of over 6000 years. The house is insulate d
against the bustle of the street and protected against a erce climate. Thes e
characteristics were a central open court, a privacy wall at the entrance an d
family accomodation to the furthest distance from the entry point .
Rome - Insulae,
are multistory
tenement houses .
Hunter-gatherers live i n
small groups of associate d
families called a band .
There is no division of labour an d
decisions are made jointly .
Tribal societies are characterized b y
widespread cohesion and some politica l
organization. The usual household i n
pastoral tribe s includes two o r
more couples
and their
children.
The social organization of semi-nomads is that of a tribal
community, a group of people united by ties of descent from a
common ancestor, a community of customs and traditions.
Pre-urban indigenous housing is a
response to cultural and physica l
forces particular to socioeconomi c
and physical environment .
Tribal and pastoral communitie s
have several dwelling type s
according to seasons .
Different permanent dwelling prototype s
emerge as a result of variables such a s
building materials, climate, topography ,
crop circulation and cultural heritage .
Greece - The urban houses are unpretentious, i n
keeping with a democratic dislike for display .
Language is used to pass
skills and knowledge needed
for survival.
Human power is an integral means
of constructing, cooling, heating and
maintaining the home.
Hunter-gatherer cultures claim
land on demand.
The dwelling and land was shared
between members of the tribe.
Home and land are acquired
through family lineage.
The general acceptance of coins creates a
vehicle for property exchange.
Urban cities create an infrastructure of roads that
serve to connect people socially.
Hunter-gatherer cultures follow
food, water and changes in seasons.
Laws were recorded and taxes enforced.
Only the privileged are literate.
The home is powered by
human power
No property
Communal
property
Property through
settlement
Domesticated land provokes a sense of private ownership.
Property is
inherited
Periodic movement
of dwelling
Knowledge is
passed on
Knowledge is
coded
Movement towards a
cluster of dwellings
Continuous movement
of dwelling
Nomadic and settled communities
mobilize animals between areas for
breeding and raising livestock.
Craft shapes
construction
Environment
shapes construction
Guilds and tradesmanship emerge in
construction. Craft creates a cultural
legacy.
Climatization of
the dwelling
People use clothing as one
method of climatization.
Climatization of
the human body
Climatization through
human power
CONDITIONING
FOR
SURVIVAL
CONDITIONING
FOR
LUXURY
Urbanization and
stratication shape
construction
CONSTRUCTION
Floors heated by underground furnaces
and mass walls heated by the sun make
the home more adaptable to changes in
temperature during different seasons.
Slaves condition the homes of the wealthy by
moving air with hand powered fans.
natural materials
Climate control becomes more sophisticated as dwellings
are oriented based on climate and made
more permanent.
The harnessing of energy from re and oil, in
the form of heat and light, was a monumental
change that allowed for the home to be
heated and the food to be cooked.
Materials, like concrete, are made from processes
that increase strength and durability.
Nomadic groups move after exhausting resources,
leaving their waste behind them.
Leave waste
behind
Knossos, Greece - First
recorded landll
3000 B C
Early dwellings are built from local, readily usuable
materials like dirt, mud, branches and grasses.
Babylonia is
documented by many a s
one of the rst places
to mold clay int o
pipes.
Rome - The Cloaca Maxim a
sewer is completed .
Early bands have no real leadership or hierarchy
and no real sense of possession or property.
Advanced food production is accompanied by full time divisio n
of labour. Those not needed for food productio n
specialize in other tasks. There is a weakening of th e
social structure based on kinship and a strenghtening o f
ties along occupationa l
lines and differentiatio n
of wealth.
Communal
cultures have little waste ,
because they create waste-reuse cycles ou t
of neccessity.
With the domestication of plants, communal production and preparation of
food, an indigenous skill/knowledge base is created. Every family is involved
in food production which creates ownership and connectedness.
Agricultural
Revolution
Existence depends mainly on food
gathering and hunting.
As cultures become more sedentary and efcient at providing food
and water, larger permanent settlements can be sustained.
CONDITIONING
FOR
PERMANENCE
Rome - Water is brought t
cities by aquaducts
Permanent dwellings
require more durable
materials
CONSTRUCTION
AS
CRAFT
Local construction materials are made more
durable through processing.
For urbanized cultures, social activities develop outside the
dwelling in social gathering places like public baths or the market.
Hunter-gatherer s
feel a limited sens e
of ownership ove r
the wild plants an d
animals.
Property is mainly applicabl e
to belongings in the form o f
clothing and tools .
Ownership still has the simpl e
characteristic of communal property a s
opposed to individual ownership .
In classical Greek cities, th e
most important means of acquirin g
wealth and property is the transfe r
of property from on e
generation to
the next via
inheritance or
dowry.
Dwellings are no t
used for more tha n
a few days.
Domesticated animal s
are used to transpor t
building materials .
The anticipated use of a dwelling is mostly for a perio d
of several years. When arable land becomes depleted ,
they move to another site .
Key developments include symbols ,
cave paintings and petroglyph s
that led to identi cation, ritual s
and Tolkappiyam, believed to b e
rst language.
Through the use of carrier pigeons, the Pharaoh ca n
send messages throughout his territory, givin g
him access and greater control over larg e
areas. This allowed his words, direction s
and judgment to be mobile .
Fertile crescent - The Sumerian civilization develope d
the earliest forms of writing and mathematics .
Roman Empire-Roa d
System maintains bot h
the stability and expansio n
of the Empire by means of carryin g
materials, governance and rule fro m
one location to another .
Paleo-Indians used hot springs fo r
cooking, refuge and for respite .
The Inuit use oil lamps fuelled b y
seal blubber to heat space .
Heat generated from animals and huma n
bodies warm interior space .
The Egyptians and Cretans make thei r
candles from beeswax .
Hunter-gatherers constructe d
primitive dwellings solely o f
materials collected in th e
immediate vicinity .
Dwellings
are erected in a ver y
short amount of time .
In permanent societies, the anticipated use o f
a dwelling is for a period of years rather tha n
several days or months . This naturally
imposes greater car e
in its construction .
2500 B C
6000 BC
Mosaics enrich the oors
of Hellenistic and Roma n
dwellings.
Vitruvius,
the rst architect ,
writes that a structure must b e
durable, useful and beautiful .
Nomads spend most of their tim e
outdoors so proper clothing is ofte n
of greater importance than th e
effectiveness of the shelter .
The air between the outer and inne r
skins of Teepees provide insulation .
In summer, the outer cover is raise d
to permit ventilation .
In the Igloo,the dome exposesthe least surface
and offers the maximunm resistance t o
chilling winter winds . Interior climate control of permanen t
dwellings is no longer designed t o
the criterion of survival but t o
that of comfort .
The Romans use a
hypocaust to circulate warm air throug
public bath houses and private homes
Semi-nomadic tribes tha t
herd animals trave l
according to rain and th e
availability of pasture .
3000 B C
510 B C
Egyptians use mud mixe d
with straw to bin d
dried bricks.
The roofs of
homes are
often covered
in tiles.
3000 B C
WATER
AS
LIFE
FOOD
AS
SUBSISITENCE
WASTE
AS
RESIDUE
COMMUNITY
AS
NECESSITY
SPACE
FOR
TRANSIENCE
HOUSE
AS
REFUGE
COMMUNITY
AS
CLANS
SPACE
FOR
COMMUNITY
HOUSE
AS
COMMUNITY
WATER
AS
SETTLEMENT
FOOD
AS
RITUAL
COMMUNITY
AS
ANCESTRY
WASTE
AS
NUISANCE
SPACE
FOR
PRIVACY
HOUSE
AS
SANCTUARY
ENERGY
FROM
COMBUSTION
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
CLAIMING
MOBILIZE
TO
SURVIVE
COMMUNICATION
AS
TRADITION
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
MEMBERSHIP
MOBILIZE
TO
DWELL
ENERGY
FROM
PEOPLE
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
DOMESTICATION
MOBILIZE
TO
URBANIZE
COMMUNICATION
AS
CONTROL
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
LINEAGE
COMMUNICATION
CONSTRUCTION
AS
PROCESSED
MATERIALS
CONSTRUCTION
AS
FOUND
MATERIALS
Rise of Early Civilizations in China, Egypt, Sumer and India
Adobe house Insulae /
Hunter / gatherer
Hut / cave house
Greek Empire
Greek courtyard house
Early settlements, tribal communities
Portable, lightweight house
2000 BC 3000 BC 5000 BC 7000 BC 9000 BC 11000 BC 700 BC 1000 BC 0 100 BC 300 BC 500 BC
e
In the Renaissance, deteriorated or lost water and
sanitation practices are brought back into the home.
Revival of water
systems
Age of enlightenmen t - philosophers beg in to debate the right
to clean water as i nnate right of humanity, meaning clean
water should be availa ble to everyone, re gardless of class .
Creation of
a food economy
The Medieval family is a very
open unit that includes workers as
well as blood-relatives.
Home and work became separate for the
new and wealthy middleclass.
Family, workers and animals in Western
European cultures all reside under
one roof.
Urbanization means a second group of food
growers outside the city are responsible for food
production. As a result, market places emerge.
Viaducts and plumbing
as extensions of rivers
Farm for
protection
Waste is treated
with water
Social unit is
the family business
Space unites
labour and
family
Water is now incorporated into the architecture of the home. Waste
is dissolved in water and carried away from the home.
Water is used to carry away human
waste from the home, creating a
proto-sanitation system.
National cuisines
emerge
Trade introduces new tastes; crops
and cooking techniques are rened.
Few farm for
the many
House
represents
paradise
In Eastern cultures, the dwelling looks humble
on the outside, but represent a well of heaven
on the inside.
House
represents
security
HOUSE
AS
DEFENCE
In Western European cultures, during
the feudal era, the house protects
against hostile invasions.
Social unit
is the
neighborhood
Multi-storied housing blocks by the Romans extend
vertically where space is scarce.
Space grows
vertically Space reects
ideals
Houses are placed in nature for the
pure reason of leisure.
House represents
social position
An emerging middle class aspires to replicate
aristocratic lifestyle, using sculptured facades to
convey social status.
Urban areas send their wast e
as night soil to far mers,
further increasing prod uctivity
with more food for morepeople.
People returning fr om the disastrous
Second Crusade bring b ack sugar, and som e
Europeans begin to fav or it over honey.
600-90 0
Fortied cities maintained a n
ecological balance with their
hinterlands; the count ryside
offered the produce , the city
offered a marketplace .
Christopher Columbu s lands in
America, encountering new foods.
Corn is brought to Eur ope.
1492
Britis h
Agricultura l
Revolutio n
exhibits a massive increase in agricultural productivity and n et output. This in turn supports
unprecedented popul ation growth, freeing up a signicant percentage of the workforce, and
thereby helping dri ve the Industrial Revolution. Fundame ntal changes in workforce
organization, cropsand farming methods are largelyresponsible.
Sugar rivals gold in
value in colonial
trading.
1530
Seed-planting dril
is p
177
The rst cast-iro
plow is patented
Rome - Larger Roman cities ar e
equiped with a sewage system .
Dumping of
waste from
windows is
forbidden
in Paris,
France.
1185
Europe - Spread of
the Black Death. T he
epidemic killed bet ween
a third and two-thi rds
of Europes populat ion.
1340
The rst recorded use of pack aging
- German papermakerAndreas Bernhart
begins placing his paper in wrappers
labeled with his na me and address.
1551
The Rittenhouse
Mill, Americas rst
paper mill, opens i n
Philadelphia makingpaper
from recycled cotton a nd
linen as well as used paper.
1690
Insulae,
tenement houses .
Especially in Eastern cultures, neighborhoods and
streetscapes serve as social grounds for
families with different status and similar interests.
The city becomes
compartmentalized int
residential, commercia
recre
industrial areas
Pompei - A considerable proportion of th e
urban population is composed out of leisure d
and cultured people of the middle class ,
including wealthy merchants .
Home and work becom es separated for the
wealthy. Women losetouch with affairs
in the outside worl d and men, in turn,
lose touch with domest ic affairs. The
basic social unit, the
family, undergoes a
profound change.
1750
The general acceptance of coins creates a
vehicle for property exchange.
The invention of accounting
changes how currency can be
exchanged for ownership.
Trade routes are developed and new
elements from foreign cultures are
introduced into the home.
Urban cities create an infrastructure of roads that
serve to connect people socially.
Property is
traded
Vassals are given
protection but have no
ownership of the property
they farm.
Property is
managed
Movement between
dwellings
Movement
across oceans
Knowledge is
widespread
Movement between
cultures
e
Skeleton and skin
shape construction
Construction components do not correspond to
structural logic but rather to aesthetic ideals.
Identity shapes
construction
The use of glass for windows allows
spaces to be sealed, creating envelopes
that keep drafts out while letting light in.
Active
climatization
through
radiant heating
Passive
climatization
through
courtyards
Passive
climatization
through glazed
windows
CONDITIONING
FOR
COMFORT
CONSTRUCTION
AS
MASS
CONSTRUCTION
AS
FACADE
CONDITIONING
FOR
SEASONS
CONSTRUCTION
AS
FRAME
CONDITIONING
FOR
LIGHT
harnessing the elements
Floors heated by underground furnaces
and mass walls heated by the sun make
the home more adaptable to changes in
temperature during different seasons.
Materials, like concrete, are made from processes
that increase strength and durability.
Waste piles up so h igh outside
Paris gates that itinterferes
with citys defence s
1400
Social unit
is the city
Knowledge is
transported
An infrastructure of roads and
trade routes facilitates the spread of
knowledge and ideas.
Islamic cities - Residential sectors ar e
altered into preci ncts, called
mahalahs, that per form important
functions in the areas of social
control, socializ ation, and
mutual assistance . Rich and poor
intermingle and f orm self-sufcient
neighborhoods.
Merchants and craft smen are
free and priveleged me n whose
liberty are protected by
laws. The biggest partof the
population remain s erfs who
have to pay large amou nts to
their lord in retur n
for protection.
W-Europe - In cities, the h ome and workspace becomes
separate in wealthy
families during the
Renaissance.
The Mayans develop advanced hydrauli c
systems for water distribution .
TangDynasty, Chin a - Tea from the sou th becomes
increasingly popul ar. Because tea is ma de from boiled
water,it is suspected to have contributed to an increase
in longevity among theChinese people dur ing this era.
The microscope i s
invented allowin g
for the detectio n
of particles in
water once though t
to be clean.
France - The rst large-scale use o f cast-iron pipe for distribution of water.
A 15 mile cast-iron ma in is installed fro m Marley-on-Seina to the palace at
Versailles. The sys tem is still in service today.
Late 1600s
In the Roman atriu m
house, a small pool called the impluvium catche s
rainwater. An underground tank connected to i t
stores excess rainwater fo r
household use.
The Spice trade emerge s.
London - While the upper and m iddle classes
in England evolve a ne w domestic life pat tern
disassociatedfrom making a living,the majority
of workers continue tolive as they had
done during the mid dle ages. The workshop
of the craftsman is st ill an integral
part of his home .
Houses are erected using wooden post and beam
structures. Spaces in the wooden frame are inlled
with durable local materials like brick or stone.
Innovations for the home are developed
that can harness energy from re, wind,
earth and sun.
- Water is brought t o
cities by aquaducts .
Self-sufcient feudal communities produce food at a small
scale in rural areas for their lords and recieved protection
in return. Families share communal plots.
Protection
for property
Social unit is
the extended family
Now that the chemical and physical properties of materials can
be measured, formulas for increased production are generated.
Waste is used
as fertilizer
Organic and human waste is carried to
agricultural areas outside urban centres
to be composted.
Mastery of
algebra shapes
construction
Eastern architecture is rooted in a profound
understanding of algebra.
CONSTRUCTION
AS
MATHEMATICS
Space adapts
to seasons
Courtyard homes by Eastern civilizations
have multifunctional spaces and use
depends on season or time of day.
Eastern cultures mastered climatization by
recreating microclimates using solar chimneys,
courtyards, fountains and plants.
For urbanized cultures, social activities develop outside the
dwelling in social gathering places like public baths or the market.
Mass communication through new printing techniques
start a power shift away from elites towards the masses.
Books were brought into the home.
Foreign housing types and cultures are brought to new
regions with colonization and immigration.
With the development of new industrial agricultural
techniques and transportation modes, plots became larger in
scale and more delocalized from urban regions
The Romans issue new coins and new taxe s
including a general sales tax and land tax ar e
introduced.
In the feudal syste m, land is owned bya monarch,
who in exchange for ho mage and military s ervice
granted its use to tenants.
Luca Pacioli, also known as
Friar Luca dal Borgo, is
credited for the birthof
accounting.
The development of new, long-
distance trade routes stimulates
the development of capital and
foreign exchange ma rkets.
Workers rent proper ty in urban
areas to be closer to work.
Developers in Londo n, UK begin
to pay attention to cu rrent
aesthetics to meet the tastes of
clients.
The Roman Empi re was connected by a syste m
of 85,000 km of pav ed roads.
Trade between
China, Korea,
Japan, India,
and the Far
East
The Carrack were sh ips the Spanish and
Portuguese used to explore the world.
England - The absence of cheap, quick
public mass transpo rtation made it
imperative to live clo se to the
workspace.
Trade along the Silk R oad
The Printing Press - The rst printing press wa s
developed in China around 105AD. In 1456, Johann
Gutenberg developed a more modernised ver sion. Before
the printing press,only the wealthy had access to
books. After its devel opment, the level o f education
throughout the poor er classes began torise.
The rst printed newspape r
was published.
Publication of the Enc yclopdie,
the bible of the Enl ightenment,
begins in France .
The rst windmills had vertica l
shafts and were built in Persi a
and China.
Windmills are mentione d in a Papal Bull. Because
wind was from God, it required the permission of
the church to erecta windmill.
1100s
Vaporizing water in to steam, as in
the steam engine, is i ntegral in the
mechanisation of in dustry and the
mobilization of peo ple and goods.
1700s
1750s
Natural ga
produced from coa
is used to ligh
houses, as well a
streetlights.
The Romans use
Pozzolouni cement .
A treatise on Alegbra is writte n
by the Persian mathematici an
Muhammad ibn Musa al-khwar izmi.
820
Half-timber fram e
is characteristi c
of places where
timber is in
good supply.
Stucco is directly applied to a surface, such
as brick or stone, and is used to cover less
visually appealing mat erials.
The colonnaded walls o f the Palazzo del T e in Italy
are decorated on al l sides, and surfaces are spattered
by broken or blemis hed plaster called sepzzato. The
facades are not as symmetrical as theyappear, and the
spans between the colu mns are irregular.
1500s
Contruction of the
Town Hall in Brussels,
Belgium.
1400s
Bry Higgins is issued a
patent for hydrauli c cement,
otherwise known as stucco,
for exterior plaste ring use.
Mass-production of bri ck
and its transportatio n
revolutionalizes ho me
building.
The Romans use a oor system called a
hypocaust to circulate warm air throug h
public bath houses and private homes .
Glass is used in build ings as a
material for windows. The use of
glass affects how m any windows could
be placed in the ho me.
Count Rumford desig ns a replace with a tall, shal low
rebox that is much betterat drawing the smoke up
and out of the buildin g. Rumfords designis the
foundation for modern replaces.
Late 1700s
The postal
service
under the
Roman Empire
carried the
mail of ofcials
throughout the Roma n
road system.
1
Throughout the 1600 s and 1700s, librar
surged in popularity a nd grew as
universities develo ped.
1605
1500s
The Chinese
road network
spans over 40,000km.
1779
1664
1700s
This system is still a pparent today.
WATER
AS
SOLVENT
FOOD
AS
GOODS
WASTE
AS
EFFLUENT
COMMUNITY
AS
CITIZENSHIP
SPACE
FOR
EXPANSION
WATER
AS
AWAKENING
COMMUNITY
AS
CLASS
SPACE
FOR
CONTEMPLATION
FOOD
AS
INDUSTRY
WASTE
AS
FODDER
SPACE
FOR
COSMOLOGY
FOOD
AS
DEFENCE
SPACE
FOR
PRODUCTION
COMMUNITY
AS
GUILD
HOUSE
AS
RETREAT
COMMUNITY
AS
DIVERSITY
FOOD
AS
IDENTITY
HOUSE
AS
STATUS
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
EXCHANGE
MOBILIZE
TO
SOCIALIZE
COMMUNICATION
AS
MOBILITY
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
FINANCING
MOBILIZE
TO
COLONIZE
COMMUNICATION
AS
DISSEMINATION
ENERGY
FROM
NATURE
MOBILIZE
TO
TRADE
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
SERVICE
Roman Empire
Insulae / Atrium house
Age of the East
Japanese, Chinese, Middle East courtyard house
MiddleAges
Feudal house
Renaissance
European Merchant house
Scienti c Revolution
Tudor house
500 1000 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600 1700 700 300 900 1100 0 100
Traditional space arrangements are replaced by
owing continuous open spaces.
Inspired by industrial aesthetics, modern houses
reject traditional forms of ornament and strive
to be highly functional.
Unclean water is discovered to carry disease,
spurring a movement to better water
and sanitation standards for the home.
Refrigeration and new preservatives
allow food to be stored and transported
over longer distances and time
New methods of
industry and production
bring chemicals into
everyday household use.
Waste is collected and sorted
in recycling centres.
Water becomes
a power source
Food becomes
processed and stored
l a c i m e h C
waste Recyling
waste
Synthetic
waste
Space is no
longer static
Waste is used
as commodity
Scavengers became a common sight, selling the
items they found to Rag-and-bottle shops.
Water is harnessed to generate energy and
can now be used to power industry and
later the home.
Water as a
carrier of disease
Water as a delivery
and treatment
system
Mass bottling of water and
movement to privatize water
changes the way
homes access water.
Water is
redirected and
transported
Inexpensive synthetic materials are developed
through new industrial manufacturing
processes that decrease the need for expensive
natural materials.
Different types of styles emerge in the
architecture of houses, such as Art Nouveau, Art
Deco and Prairie Style.
House represents
style
Social unit is
shared culture
Groups of immigrants nd support amongst each other in
foreign lands. Neighborhoods of shared tradition integrate their
homeland culture.
The large American single family house
represents opportunities in a ourishing
economy to live the American dream.
House represents
everyones dream
Optimal lay-outs for kitchens and
bathrooms create a culture of
convenience.
Ostentatious p
apartments a
pretentious detac
become symbols
Packaging
waste
The growth of convenience foods increases the
amounts of waste from packaging.
In the Industrial Revo lution, the river i s a source
of energy for the indu stry (kinetic energ y of owing
water), but also serve s as a highway for transport
and commerce and pr ovides
recreation for the city dwellers.
Pais ley Scotland - First facility
to lter and distribute wa ter to an
entire town.
London, UK - Bedford p ark.
Sanitary pipes are pla ced on the
outside walls for hygi enic reasons
and ease of acces s
for repair.
London, U K
Cholera
outbreak
First application of c hlorine. The rate
of typhoid plummets dr amatically.
Berlins rst central waterwo rks and
transmission system isconstructed.
First PVC
pipe is used
in plumbing.
1926
Kuwait begins using se awater
desalination technolog y..
1960s
The Aswan High
Dam in Egypt
is completed,
forming the world s
third-largest wate r
reservoir.
1968
Transnational infrastructures redirect major
watersources. Areas that have limited access to
water can now import water for homes.
1885
1970
Vittel revolutioniz
water market by lau
the rst plastic bottle
1875
1890s
1854
1804
Mixed chemical
fertilizers are
sold commercially .
1849
-planting drill
s patented.
1770
cast-iron
ow is patented .
1797
Practical
threshing machin e
is patented.
1837
The development of the refrigerator allows
for longer term sto rage capabilities.
1881 The discovery and d evelopment
of the pasteurization of food.
1862
The use of milk powderreduces
transportation & stora ge costs and does
not require refridgera tion.
NYC, USA - The rst Supermarket
Californi a - First
drive-in restaurant .
Food becomes
abundant
Pre-cooked froze n
foods are introduced .
The cost of food decreases because of subsidies,
widespread use of agro-industrial techniques, new
pesticides, fertilizers and reduced trade barriers.
1939
1936
1930
Swanson introduces the
rst successful TV dinner.
1953
Report links diseases to lthy environmental
conditions: the Age o f Sanitation begin s.
1842
The rst commercial syntheti c
plastic celluloid i s
successfully manufactu red.
Chicago, US A
Beginning of large-sca le
aluminum recycling .
NYC, USA -
First recycling
center
1897
1904
Dr. Thomas Jasperson o btains
a patent for makingpaper
from de-inked waste paper.
1916
Cellophane is inven ted
Aluminum foil is inven ted.
1929
DuPont
patents
nylon
1937
1960
The aluminum can fo r
beverages is
developed.
1963
Po
Single zone uses re placed
efcient and balanced mixe d
land use.
e city becomes,
rtmentalized int o
ential, commercia l,
creational and
dustrial areas.
Building codes and room sizes are introduced
to safeguard public health and general
welfare for occupants.
Space is
shaped by codes
Owners displayed and asserted their
personality through the uniqueness of
their detached homes.
House
represents
individual
USA - Ebenezer Howard formu lates three importa nt
planning principlesfor the Garden City.
1900
France - Le Corbusier
introduces his ve
principles of archi tecture
1929
Germany - The Weissenhof col ony
project demonstrate s the
principles of moder nism.
House represents
futuristic living
Workers seek to winimproved
conditions and wage s through
labor unions, organ izations for
winning improvement s by
collective bargaini ng
and strikes.
Workers live in small identical houses in
cramped streets.
House represents
production
USA - In the east and midwe st, great cities
arise, swelled by i mmigrants who enlarge the
industrial labor fo rce. Immigrants transformed
America economicall y and socially in the late
19th century.
New York, USA - By 1920, 391,000
Italians live in the c ity.
1920
Europe - Art Nouveau
reaches its apex
between 1892 to 1902 .
Prairie style
emerged in the US 1927
Energy is generated by nuclear power plants that
convert energy from ssion into electricity.
Financial institutions and housing
corporations give home buyers an
avenue into the market.
Libraries, public schools and
newpapers create infrastructures for
public education.
Home is powered by
centralized electricity plants
Energy is generated by centralized plants that convert fossil
fuels and water into electricity. Electricity is then mass
distributed to homes through grids.
Home is powered by
centralized nuclear power plants
Movement towards
foreign luxury resorts
Knowledge is
institutionalized
Knowledge is
immediate
Funded
property
Mortgaged
property
Social and low income housing are subsidized through
government funded initiatives.
Knowledge is
invasive
Movement between
home and work
Home is
powered by
fossil fuels
Development of the telephone brings real-time long distance
communication in the home.
Scientic method
shapes construction
After the industrialization of building
components, housing can be built for
large sectors of the population.
Industrialization
shapes construction
CONSTRUCTION
AS
MASS
PRODUCTION
CONSTRUCTION
AS
MATERIAL
SCIENCE
International construction organisations set
standardized measures to create a global
market for construction building products.
Technology inuences the architecture of the home, creating
specialized structures that support technology and enhance
living spaces, such as kitchens, baths and living rooms.
Convenience
technologies
shape
construction
Active climatization through
mechanical systems
Homes use mechanical systems combined with a tightly closed
envelope to maximize control over cooling via air conditioning and
heating via fossil fueled furnaces.
CONSTRUCTION
AS
TECHNOLOGY
CONDITIONING
FOR
CONTROL
Property as
investment
1902
Polystyrene is put on the market.
1930
As movement becomes more convenient
with the introduction of mass
transportation, people begin to travel to
increasingly distant lands for leisure.
Catered
according to lifestyle, offering
different services and ammenities.
Greater independence fosters segregated
monocultural neighborhoods.
Social unit
is the nuclear
family
USA - The baby boom tha t
followed after the wa r
triggered acute hou sing
shortage and forcedmany
younger families toleave the
cities for the subu rbs.
Space grows
horizontally
1970s
In industrialized urban areas, building
codes limit the spread of air borne
diseases by regulating the proximity
between houses and improving the
ventilation in them.
Jobs in factories lure people away from their rural homes and into the cities
or closer to work. Urban homes become disconnected from the countryside.
Industrial
Revolution
Movement towards
factories
The acquisition of land, as well as buildings, becomes
an investment for development, leasing and selling.
To light and heat the
home, coal and natural gas
are exploited as controllable
and efcient sources of
energy.
Social unit is
the workers union
Workers seek to win improved conditions and wages
through labor unions. Large companies start building
commuities for their workers, close to the factory.
A greater divide between work, amenities and
home is made possible because of the freedom
and independence offered by the automobile. The
garage becomes a part of the home.
1928
Separated rooms with specic functions,
are serviced by a central corridor.
Space is
divided
Paris, France - The height
of Parisian apartment is
limited to about 65ft ,
resulting in mediu m height
buildings that assu re
reasonable access t o light,
air and sunshine.
The increased presence of television and
radio allows for a centralized creation of
content to be
distributed to the masses.
Communication binds us to the home.
Food becomes
convenient
Changes in the social fabric calls for the creation of
convenience food technologies and services, e.g. TV dinners
and fast food, causing the decline of food as a ritual.
1955
Rise in factory
farming
operations.
USA - First franshised Mcdonalds
restaurant open s.
Climatization
through
codes
Now that the chemical and physical properties of materials can
be measured, formulas for increased production are generated.
Western Culture -
The general belie f
in a better world p revails.
To sustain peoplesoptimism,
governmets enact so cial
building programs d esigned
to ease housing sho rtages.
CONSTRUCTION
AS
STANDARDIZATION
Styrofoam is
introduced.
1944
As mobility allows for greater independance, distance
between family members grows with specialized
housing types for different generations.
Systems of centralized water delivery
and treatment become commonplace
in municipalities.
Bead molded polysty rene
cups are introduced .
USA
- Abundance of
land, widespread
automobile ownershi p
and a government
policy favoring
home-ownership
create the
conditions for
unprecedented
expansion of suburb an
development.
The Karl-Marx-hof, a
social housing comp lex
with 1382 units, is
built.
USA - The post-WWIIrise in income coupled with insured loan
programs enable lar ge numbers of families to become home owner s.
Detached suburban hous es turn out to be v ery expensive
in infrastructure c osts (policing, re protection,
street maintenance) .
Conrad Hilton
starts his rst
hotel.
The Orient
Express reaches
from France to
Turkey.
Low density suburba n
housing makes
public transport
uneconomical. Many
families need two
cars to ensure
freedom.
The rst general laws agains t
child labour were enac ted.
Before this, Children were
expected to work .
,
The telephone is
invented.
Television - By the 1950s TV
changed the physica l and social
makeup of the home,creating an
entire room dedicat ed to the TV
and redening family inter action.
First radio broadcast .
The rst fully
automatic mobile
phone
al gas
oduced from coa l
ed to light
uses, as well a s
reetlights.
1785
Michael Faraday suc ceeds in
building the rst electric mo tor.
1840
Thomas Edison opens th e rst
electricity generat ing plant.
1900s
1881
Nuclear replaces
hydropower as the s econd-
largest source of elec tricity
in the United State s, after coal.
1870s
The rst hydro-electric plantin the Southern
Hemisphere is complete d in Tasmania.
1895
Hydroelectric power ac counts
for more than 40 perce nt
of the US supply o f
electricity.
t,
,
e.
Portland
cement is
invented.
1824
BessemerProcess - the rst inexpensive
process for the mass-p roduction of
steel from iron. Pr ior to this,
steel was far too expe nsive to use
in most application s.
1851
Sears Roebuck offers h ouses as kits whic h
can be ordered by m ail from a catalog.
1900s
Thomas Edison forms
the Edison Portland
Cement Co. He envision s
using concrete to mass -
produce housing.
Standardization of scr ew thread forms acc elerates
during WWII so thatinterchangeable parts can
be produced by any of the Allied countrie s.
ISO standards fo
shipping container
are established
198
During the postwar yea rs, public health
is paramount. Sun orie ntation and
ventilation are imp ortant
considerations.
1896
1750s
s, libraries
rew as
1889
1830s
1981
1919
1926
1868
refridgerator
oven
stove
dishwasher
The application of steam power to the printing process supported
a massive expansion ofnewspaper and boo k
publishing, reinforcin g rising literacy.
The light
bulb is
invented.
1906
WASTE
AS
HAZARD
WATER
AS
HEALTH
FOOD
AS
SCIENCE
SPACE
FOR
JURISDICTION
HOUSE
AS
PORTRAIT
WATER
AS
SERVICE
WASTE
AS
RESOURCE
COMMUNITY
AS
ETHNICITY
HOUSE
AS
SCULPTURE
FOOD
AS
CONSUMPTION
WASTE
AS
MUTATION
SPACE
FOR
SPACE/TIME
HOUSE
AS
UTILITY
WATER
AS
COMMODITY
COMMUNITY
AS
BRAND
HOUSE
AS
PRESTIGE
FOOD
AS
DISTRIBUTION
WASTE
AS
BYPRODUCT
COMMUNITY
AS
MUNICIPALITY
SPACE
FOR
CONVENIENCE
HOUSE
AS
ASPIRATION
WATER
AS
IMPORT
WATER
AS
ENERGY
COMMUNITY
AS
FACTORY
SPACE
FOR
SPECIALIZATION
HOUSE
AS
DORMITORY
WASTE
AS
ECONOMY
ENERGY
FROM
GRIDS
MOBILIZE
TO
TRAVEL
COMMUNICATION
AS
INTERACTION
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
REDISTRIBUTION
COMMUNICATION
AS
BROADCASTING
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
CREDIT
MOBILIZE
TO
ATOMIZE
MOBILIZE
TO
SUBURBANIZE
ENERGY
FROM
MECHANIZATION
OWNERSHIP
THROUGH
OWNERSHIP
MOBILIZE
TO
WORK
COMMUNICATION
AS
EDUCATION
CONDITIONING
FOR
SANITATION
ENERGY
FROM
FISSION
Industrial Revolution
Workers house
Colonial Era
Prairie house / Sears house
Interwar Era
Modernist house
Victorian Era
Victorian house
Cold War Era
Suburban house
Information
High Rise
1800 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1910
DIGITAL DESIGN & DIGITAL FABRICATION
FOR ULTIMATE CHALLENGES

001 Thesis Explore Lab Pieter Stoutjesdijk - Public

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