Tectonics transcended detailing in digital fabrication /

by Wollet, Travis J.

Digital fabrication and computer numerically controlled (CNC) technologies affect tectonic architecture and the design process. Over the course of the past one hundred years, the significance of the detail has changed greatly, and with this transformation its value has been lost. The architect’s accountability for the crafting of the joint has evolved from that of a craftsman to a draftsman as in today’s practice. Coupled with the emergence of standardardized construction methods, economic pressures, and increased specialization in the architecture profession, the architect’s connection to the detail has become a virtual affiliation. Research into the history and significance of tectonics, specifically the detail and its implications on the cultural and social meaning of architecture, I can develop a model to restore the authority of detailing and craft back to the architect. The application of current computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technologies to modern materials, can result in expressive and well-crafted details. As Marco Frascari suggested in The Tell-the-Tale Detail, the opportunity for innovation and invention in architecture lies in the details, “and it is through [details] that architects can give harmony to the most uncommon and difficult or disorderly environment.” By utilizing digital and manufacturing technologies in an innovative but critical manner, conventional materials can be reactivated through surface or geometric transformations. A combination of manufacturing facility visits, fabricator interviews, and technology research has been completed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the current digital fabrication technologies, and their applications to architectural production processes. Fabrication technology enables architects to participate more actively in material research and development than in the past, and also reunites the architecture profession with the construction industry. This lends itself to the reinterpretted master builder as James Timberlake and Stephen Kieran describe in Refabricating Architecture. It is the aim of this research to create an appropriate context for synthesizing the historic significance of the joint with production technology of today to restore the authority of detailing with a reinvented model of workmanship. 1 Frascari, p. 501 Image 0.01: (opposite) Tectonic Garden: New York. Office dA. detailing in digital fabrication 0.02 l 1. 04