A Controlled Loss of Control (part 1)
In the next few posts, I want to talk about a few related topics that have been rattling around my brain for the past few years. I do this in hopes of putting down some bread crumbs for me to follow (or dismiss) as we get into the design project side of the semester for RoboFab.My Building Material is White ≠ My Building Material is Colored White
The promise of the introduction of digital technologies in architecture, according to the voice inside my head, was to deliver Total Architecture. But every step of the way, I have been thwarted by reality.
Migrating from hand drafting, with its graphite limitations, to the Ideal space of AutoCAD, was exhilarating. Then came Rhino, where I could leave representation behind and design things like God meant them to be designed; by endlessly zooming in and out. This launched my Obsessive Compulsive tendencies into the third dimension but like any thrill-seeker, I needed more.
That's where Robots made their entrance. With robots, I could finally complete my digital digestive system. I could start with an idea, break it down with Rhino, process it with Grasshopper and "make it real" with the Robots. Lets just take this ridiculous analogy to its absurd end: the new problem became that this six-million-dollar digestive system was a little sensitive to non-homogenized materials.
I have always loved working with irregular things, but the new digital me wanted smooth homogenous materials to match my smooth homogenous renderings. The advantage of such a material, when in pursuit of Total Precision, is that they behave in a predictable manner in all (or most) directions. In contrast, a hunk of pine reacts more to moisture and temperature changes and in non-uniform ways. Here, I finally hit a fork in the road, I could go down the road of precision and strive for full fluency or I could do what I did in Spanish 101 and just focus on being able to roll my R's. By this I don't mean be happy with sloppy work; rather I want to allow some space for the material to act within parameters that I have set.
For example, I could coat areas of the hunk of pine with a fire retardant material and let it burn for a specific amount of time. By adding two "control points" to a rapid and unpredictable process, I can get dramatically different results than total control or the complete lack of it. This approach is exciting because I can only vaguely predict the outcome. Thus the end result has the capacity to surprise me and take me down paths I didn't foresee. The advantage of Robots in this sort of process is that they allow for the control of all other variables besides the one being examined.
A potential problem with this approach could be that it results in something that is uninteresting or take many iterations before satisfiable results start happening with frequency.
I don't have the energy for a soft landing, so I'll just end this post with a thud.
Migrating from hand drafting, with its graphite limitations, to the Ideal space of AutoCAD, was exhilarating. Then came Rhino, where I could leave representation behind and design things like God meant them to be designed; by endlessly zooming in and out. This launched my Obsessive Compulsive tendencies into the third dimension but like any thrill-seeker, I needed more.
That's where Robots made their entrance. With robots, I could finally complete my digital digestive system. I could start with an idea, break it down with Rhino, process it with Grasshopper and "make it real" with the Robots. Lets just take this ridiculous analogy to its absurd end: the new problem became that this six-million-dollar digestive system was a little sensitive to non-homogenized materials.
I have always loved working with irregular things, but the new digital me wanted smooth homogenous materials to match my smooth homogenous renderings. The advantage of such a material, when in pursuit of Total Precision, is that they behave in a predictable manner in all (or most) directions. In contrast, a hunk of pine reacts more to moisture and temperature changes and in non-uniform ways. Here, I finally hit a fork in the road, I could go down the road of precision and strive for full fluency or I could do what I did in Spanish 101 and just focus on being able to roll my R's. By this I don't mean be happy with sloppy work; rather I want to allow some space for the material to act within parameters that I have set.
For example, I could coat areas of the hunk of pine with a fire retardant material and let it burn for a specific amount of time. By adding two "control points" to a rapid and unpredictable process, I can get dramatically different results than total control or the complete lack of it. This approach is exciting because I can only vaguely predict the outcome. Thus the end result has the capacity to surprise me and take me down paths I didn't foresee. The advantage of Robots in this sort of process is that they allow for the control of all other variables besides the one being examined.
A potential problem with this approach could be that it results in something that is uninteresting or take many iterations before satisfiable results start happening with frequency.
I don't have the energy for a soft landing, so I'll just end this post with a thud.
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