Abstract
This research focuses on issues of coordination between designers and fabricators during early design. The aim of this work is to improve representations, enable more informed conversations, and streamline exchanges of digital models. In order to show the potential of the work, research is focused on architectural precast concrete facades. Previous work established methods for linking and parametric models of architectural intent and corresponding components, describing processes of mapping from individual custom panels to diagrammatic facade surfaces and vice-versa. Such mapping may be considered direct, wherein individual panel boundaries - defined by surface patterning - allow simple mapping of data from global to local or from local to global descriptions. However, there are some buildings with architectural precast concrete facades which do not permit direct relationships between global and local descriptions. These atypical facades require maps containing additional layers of information in order to coordinate global and local descriptions. This paper describes two categories of these indirect scenarios: panelization and patterns across panels.
Highlights
The notion of linking building descriptions from designs and fabricators - among other project actors - is underpinned by the widespread belief that “the historical role of the designer as an author, a sole creator, is being replaced with semi-autonomous, algorithmically driven design workflows deeply embedded in a collective of digital communication infrastructure.” [Marble, 2012] the current disconnect of global and local descriptions extends beyond technical modes of working and depicting projects to conceptual meanings of drawings or models and cognition
Research has documented, modelled, and referenced precedent buildings with architectural precast concrete façades in order to demonstrate the process of developing various parametric maps and their effect on the design outcomes of those buildings
This paper has described two approaches for coordinating digital models of architectural precast concrete façades and panels which display indirect mapping between global and local descriptions
Summary
The notion of linking building descriptions from designs and fabricators - among other project actors - is underpinned by the widespread belief that “the historical role of the designer as an author, a sole creator, is being replaced with semi-autonomous, algorithmically driven design workflows deeply embedded in a collective of digital communication infrastructure.” [Marble, 2012] the current disconnect of global and local descriptions extends beyond technical modes of working and depicting projects to conceptual meanings of drawings or models and cognition. It can be further argued that the disconnect between building descriptions has been exaggerated by industry-focused software which align with goals for certain project actors; designer exploration and fabricator specification. Mapping between these descriptions can elucidate and associate global and local representations, of digital models and within the minds of designers and fabricators; maps will serve as manifestations of “distributed cognition” for projects. Design intent for the overall building façades must be discretized into individual pieces and translated - applying expert knowledge regarding panel features, form construction, transportation and assembly limitations, and more - into directives for fabrication. Previous work documented the process and possibilities of incorporating digital modelling into an existing architectural precast concrete fabricator workflow. [Collins, 2016] This work demonstrated that, while parametric digital models do help to achieve precise geometry and collection of various sorts of data for fabrication and construction activities, coordination and conversation among various actors is still critical to achieving desired design outcomes
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