Bespoke Fragments

New working methods for the architect
The use of digital fabrication tools opens up a new approach to materials in an architectural context. The knowledge of designs and drawings can become informed through the understanding of the fabrication processes and their interface with materials.
Architects can utilise the connection between digital drawing and digital fabrication to engage directly with materials. Direct intervention with materials allow architects to explore them in new ways in relation to architecture and buildings. New material possibilities create a foundation for the discovery of new aesthetics, tectonics and constructions.

Exploring three materials
The research is focused on three different materials. The materials – concrete, wood and steel – are selected both because of their different characteristics and because of their direct relevance and connection to building and thereby to architecture. They are not novelties themselves, but they represent an assortment of materials that are bound to long traditions of processing, constructing and refining and at the same time still very present and prevailing in contemporary buildings. All three materials can be found in almost any building today and are impossible to ignore the context of today’s building construction industry..

Experiments to inform the discipline
The research is based on a series of experiments. The experiments serve as the central basis for discussing potentials and possibilities of using material investigations and digital fabrication in architectural design and form-finding processes. The experiments exist as physical artefacts as well as an associated series of processes.
The research aims to transfer knowledge towards the practice of architecture by showcasing a series of examples where form and design are originating directly from the interplay of architectural materials and digital machining processes and provide a contextual discussion concerning the underlying influencing elements.