Searching for Innovation Through Teaching Digital Fabrication

Abstract

The use of digital fabrication in the discourse and education of architectural students has become a common skill in many schools of architecture. There is a growing demand for computer-aided design (CAD) skills, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) logic, programming and fabrication knowledge in student education. The relevance of fabrication tools for architecture and design education goes beyond mere competence and can pursue innovation in what Branko Koleravic (2003) observed, “The digital age has radically reconfigured the relationship between conception and production, creating a direct digital link between what can be conceived and what can be built through “file-to-factory” processes of computer numerically controlled (CNC) fabrication”. However, there has been very little written about what students are actually learning through digital fabrication courses and the relevance of the skills required for innovation in the field of digital fabrication.