Machine Actuated Craft

<p>Throughout history the use of scale representations has been important in the process of creating architecture. In recent times the introduction of computer-aided design (CAD) has significantly altered traditional methods of conceptual design representation, mainly through a shift from the physical to the virtual. The aim of the research is to explore the relationship between computer aided manufacturing (CAM) and the methods for extracting and producing qualities of a conceptual nature from computer and numerically controlled (CNC) machine, and how this could advance conceptual creativity formulating in buildable form. The qualities that are inherently produced by CNC machining processes are then captured back into the three-dimensional environment (CAD), and then re-exported via CNC machining. The information that flows from the digital to the physical and then back again, creates new physical qualities that would not normally be produced, and allows for further investigation. Through the misrepresentation and reinterpretation of machine processes in this research, the output produces an object of an abstract nature created through identifying extraordinary expressions of tool paths. This 1:1 abstract object expresses qualities of craft produced by the CNC machine and creates a new form of craft that can be compared to the expression of the traditional craftsman and their trade. This simple movement between scales and formats begins to generate new design processes that in turn translate the conceptual expression of the object into a buildable form. On final completion of the object this project has proven that CAM conceptual creativity can be translated and formulated into built form. A key observation of this research is that identifying CAM production techniques can produce abstract representation through a new means of design representation.</p>

Machine Actuated Craft

<p>Throughout history the use of scale representations has been important in the process of creating architecture. In recent times the introduction of computer-aided design (CAD) has significantly altered traditional methods of conceptual design representation, mainly through a shift from the physical to the virtual. The aim of the research is to explore the relationship between computer aided manufacturing (CAM) and the methods for extracting and producing qualities of a conceptual nature from computer and numerically controlled (CNC) machine, and how this could advance conceptual creativity formulating in buildable form. The qualities that are inherently produced by CNC machining processes are then captured back into the three-dimensional environment (CAD), and then re-exported via CNC machining. The information that flows from the digital to the physical and then back again, creates new physical qualities that would not normally be produced, and allows for further investigation. Through the misrepresentation and reinterpretation of machine processes in this research, the output produces an object of an abstract nature created through identifying extraordinary expressions of tool paths. This 1:1 abstract object expresses qualities of craft produced by the CNC machine and creates a new form of craft that can be compared to the expression of the traditional craftsman and their trade. This simple movement between scales and formats begins to generate new design processes that in turn translate the conceptual expression of the object into a buildable form. On final completion of the object this project has proven that CAM conceptual creativity can be translated and formulated into built form. A key observation of this research is that identifying CAM production techniques can produce abstract representation through a new means of design representation.</p>

Image-making and Architecture: A Digital Medium for Qualitative Design Representative

Architecture is inseparable from visual aspects in the form of representation as a way to establish communication. Due to digitalization and the rapid development of technology, there has been a shift in the paradigm of image representation. Manual images become digital images, from sketching and drawing to image-making and rendering. Digital rendering is considered to be object-oriented and quantitative. It has the characteristics of being precise, fast, reflecting form and materiality, with a photorealistic image as a result. There is no visible involvement of subjects such as architects, image-maker, and observers in the process because the image represents the final outcome. Here, the role of representation to evoke imagination and deeper interpretation is lost, because it does not leave room for intervention and contemplation of the design. That is why another kind of digital method emerged in the world of representation, instead of “rendering” the design as an image, it is relevant to the act of “making” an image as design representation. Its characteristic as a representation method makes the produced images have the ability to be evocative, in order to make its viewers contemplate and interpret the design, which makes it a qualitative representation. The aim of this paper is to understand the act of image-making through digital collage as a medium for qualitative representation in architectural design. By comparing digital rendering and collage images obtained through literature studies, this paper wants to offer the author’s viewpoint on the qualities and experiences brought by architectural representation.

Conceptualising a visual representation model for MOOC-based blended learning designs

This article reports on a study about how massive open online course (MOOC)-based blended learning designs can be visually represented to facilitate their comprehension and sharing. We carried out an iterative co-creation process with different stakeholders to conceptualise a visual learning design representation model within the context of blending MOOCs with face-to-face courses. The data analysed was derived from questionnaires and the generated representations. Results indicate that the representation enabled educators to easily visualise the overall structure of the learning designs and the relationships between the different design elements, providing a context for fostering reflection and decision-making during the planning of MOOC-based blended learning designs.

Análisis de los Ambientes virtuales para el diseño de una propuesta de interfase que sirva como herramienta en el desarrollo de proyectos de investigación

In the context of public and private universities, research in Industrial Design has not excelled at the level of other disciplines, in the particular case of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico and its schools where the Industrial Design course is taught: Toluca, Zumpango and Valle de Chalco, the research area is below the institutional standards and other disciplines (UAEMéx University Statistics Agenda, 2015). According to the statistics of several accredited, certified and recognized evaluating bodies for the Industrial Design Area in Mexico, such as the ANUIES, CIEES and COMAPROD, among the factors that most influence not to improve the performance of design research are: the lack of an organized research process; lack of digital tools for resource management; and ignorance of the research process. Among several researchers on the subject, highlight the contributions of Margolin (2005) mentions that one of the particular challenges facing the community of researchers on design is to accept and include specialists who are located within different disciplinary traditions, this does not allow to follow advancing in finding new forms of design representation, so the area remains submerged in projects, forms and aspects already existing when trying to design new objects, without generating greater contributions / contributions to the design and much less to the research process .

Consuming Anti-Consumerism: The German Fairtrade Movement and the Ambivalent Legacy of ‘1968’

The article explores the influence of ‘1968’ on the West German fair trade movement. It argues that 1968 constituted an ambivalent legacy for the perception of mass consumerism: while the 1960s student movement radically criticised modern consumer society, it also put new emphasis on consumer products as markers of individual identity. The article analyses this relationship by focusing on the design, representation and advertising of fair trade products by the German fair trade organation GEPA. The first two case studies examine the politicisation of fair trade products in its early campaigns in the 1970s and the subsequent attempts to use everyday products like coffee, tea and honey to educate consumers about their individual lifestyles. The third case study looks at the GEPA's first mail-order catalogues and asks how the GEPA tried to transform an icon of modern mass consumerism into a tool to communicate its fair trade approach.