n architecture, the relationship between conception and production has evolved considerably. Despite the advances in digital fabrication, there is still a considerable gap between what we can draw and what we can make. At this point, the process of making a complex form is relatively expensive, time-consuming, and more importantly, often wasteful.EMBEDDED INTELLIGENCEThis course is based on the notion of the intelligence embedded in tools and materials. Here, we attempt to establish a design system founded on the intrinsic capabilities embedded in tools that relies upon the inherent properties of materials. This semester, our design strategy is to explore ways to exploit these characteristics in the nested fabrication method.NESTED FABRICATIONThe studio will challenge you to expand your tectonic proficiencies in developing the design principles for nested fabrication. Here, you will explore the main parameters involved in dividing the global geometry of a complex volume into stackable components. By converting different formal, material, and technical restrictions into geometric constraints, the stacked components are divided in a way that the first component gives shape to the second. PROJECTS OVERVIEWIn three interrelated projects, we will explore a zero-waste design system for constructing complex buildings in a nested fashion. In developing this nested fabrication system, we will not only deal with very advanced fabrication techniques (such as robotics), but also consider the transportation, storage, assembly, and even disassembly of building components. Keeping the principles of embedded intelligence and nested fabrication in mind, you will go through the following projects:PROJECT 1: A Fluid Architectural Elemento   Learning the design principles for 2D nested fabrication to use a subtractive method (CNC machining).o   Investigating a method that generates 3D volumes out of a series of 2D pieces, capable of producing almost no waste.o   Using the least number of plywood sheets to design an architectural system for an interior space. PROJECT 2: cityTREE, Salesforce Tower Plaza (San Francisco)o   Exploring the fundamentals of 3D nested construction to create 3D-printed stackable towers (Print in Print).o   Designing a tower as an engineered biome named cityTREE. cityTREE is a platform to address the global problem of air pollution in urban areas, intending to recreate the environmental benefits of an actual tree.o   Learning the basics of robotic 3D printing as an additive method. PROJECT 3: A Transportable Expo Pavilion, EXPO 2023 (Buenos Aires)o   Exploring a nesting technique to establish a form-finding method for tessellating a freeform shell structure into stackable components.o   Designing a transportable expo pavilion that will be fabricated in the US and assembled in Buenos Aires.o   Utilizing both additive/subtractive tools to produce the least possible construction waste. HOW TO LEARN DIGITAL FABRICATION VIA AN ONLINE STUDIOIn this online studio, you will not only learn the way things are made but the way things are programmed to be made. More than just using computer-controlled tools, digital fabrication is a process in which the tools and materials themselves are digital. Therefore, an essential part of this process is to turn data into things and things into data. Making a physical artifact is a step in the long journey of translating a CAD file into a set of commands (G-code) to feed a machine. Consequently, in a digital fabrication lab, approximately 90% of our time is spent on programming the tools to transform digital information into physical products reliably. Through the following approaches, you will enhance your skills and knowledge of making: Weekly reviews Sharing & reviewing similar fabrication processes Exchanging ideas & experience with two robotic labs at Virginia Tech and Texas A&MVirtual simulation of fabrication processesSTUDIO STRUCTUREWe will meet every Monday and Thursday. Based on your time zone, we will schedule synchronous weekly meetings for reviewing the studio projects. If needed, we will have asynchronous classes. You will work individually on Project 1. But in Project 2 &3, you have an option to work independently or in a team of 2 people. As the final deliverable of your projects, you will represent the tectonic characteristics of your designs and the means and methods of their fabrication.

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