Fabricating Architecture: Selected Readings in Digital Design and Manufacturing

Robert Corser

In this increasingly digitized world, any investigation of architecture inevitably leads to considerations of fabrication. But despite its omnipresence in contemporary practice and theory, digital design remains a fluid concept, its development and current influence discussed in scattered articles. This concise reader brings together twelve key essays illustrating the full range of ideas embodied by the term. With essays by important critics, theorists, and architects such as Martin Bechthold, Achim Menges, Amanda Reeser Lawrence, and Kiel Moe, Digital Design and Manufacturing represents contemporary digital design thinking in architecture. These seminal texts—gathered here for the first time—are organized around themes that include the intersection of digital design and manufacturing in architectural practice, architectural and engineering applications of digital design and manufacturing, and critical evaluations of digitally manufactured architecture. Also included are a small group of recent, previously unpublished essays. Taken as a whole, the collection underscores the increasing relevance of the concept as it fosters thoughtful works that engage the senses, embodies and expresses creative vision, and enhances our awareness of the world around us. Editor Robert Corser's insightful introduction and postscript, and his brief analysis of each essay guides readers through the lively debate surrounding this topic, making this a wonderful reference on digital design and manufacturing for faculty, students, and practitioners in design and design-related fields. Fabricating Architecture : Selected Readings in Digital Design and Manufacturing Robert Corser New York 2010, 15.2 x 22.9 cm, , 50 b/w illustrations , 224 pages, Paperback. In this increasingly digitized world, any investigation of architecture inevitably leads to considerations of fabrication. But despite its omnipresence in contemporary practice and theory, digital design remains a fluid concept, its development and current influence discussed in scattered articles. This concise reader brings together twelve key essays illustrating the full range of ideas embodied by the term. With essays by important critics, theorists, and architects such as Martin Bechthold, Achim Menges, Amanda Reeser Lawrence, and Kiel Moe, Digital Design and Manufacturing represents contemporary digital design thinking in architecture. These seminal texts—gathered here for the first time—are organized around themes that include the intersection of digital design and manufacturing in architectural practice, architectural and engineering applications of digital design and manufacturing, and critical evaluations of digitally manufactured architecture. Also included are a small group of recent, previously unpublished essays. Taken as a whole, the collection underscores the increasing relevance of the concept as it fosters thoughtful works that engage the senses, embodies and expresses creative vision, and enhances our awareness of the world around us. Editor Robert Corser's insightful introduction and postscript, and his brief analysis of each essay guides readers through the lively debate surrounding this topic, making this a wonderful reference on digital design and manufacturing for faculty, students, and practitioners in design and design-related fields.