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Th i s pape r expands t he d i scou rse su r r ound i ng d i g i t a l f o rms o f mak i ng by

sc ru t i n i z i ng t he r o l e o f ma te r i a l s w i t h i n compu ta t i on , u l t ima te l y p ropos i ng a

specu l a t i ve wo rk i ng mode l t ha t cha r t s new t e r r i t o r y. The g row ing impo r t ance o f

ma te r i a l s w i t h i n t echno log i ca l r esea rch makes t h i s an app rop r i a t e t ime t o cons ide r

t he nuance o f t he i r r o l e w i t h i n i t . Cu r r en t l y, ma te r i a l i nnova t i on i s happen i ng a l ong

two cen t r a l t r acks : t he cus tom i zed cu t t i ng , scu lp t i ng , and f o rm ing o f conven t i ona l

ma te r i a l s w i t h Compu te r Nume r i ca l l y Con t ro l l ed (CNC) f ab r i ca t i on equ ipmen t and

t he deve lopmen t o f new ma te r i a l s t h rough i nnova t i ons i n ma te r i a l sc i ence . Bo th

t r acks r e l y on a l im i t ed se t o f ma te r i a l p ro toco l s wh i ch enab l e p rocess -based

con t ro l and e l im i na te t he i n t r us i on o f any unp red i c t ab l e ma te r i a l v a r i ab l e . A l t hough

e f f i c i en t , such an app roach l im i t s a r ch i t ec tu re ’s ab i l i t y t o p rocu re nove l ma te r i a l

engagemen ts .

A f ew des igne rs a re deve lop i ng an a l t e r na t i ve mode l whe re compu ta t i ona l codes a re

coup led w i t h eccen t r i c ma te r i a l s t o p roduce unusua l r esu l t s . D i g i t a l ma te r i a l l u r gy,

as I have ca l l ed i t , i s pa r t t echn ique and pa r t a t t i t ude ; i t r e l i e s on i n t en t i ona l l y

ced i ng l im i t ed des i gn con t ro l t o unp red i c t ab l e ma t t e r—thus cap i t a l i z i ng on ma t t e r ’s

i nna te ab i l i t y t o p roduce unexpec ted f o rma l and ma te r i a l comp lex i t y. D i g i t a l

ma te r i a l l u r gy i den t i f i e s t he i n t e r sec t i on o f compu ta t i on and eccen t r i c ma te r i a l i t y

as a depa r t u re po i n t f o r a r ch i t ec tu r a l i nnova t i on . By pu rpose fu l l y i n se r t i ng ma te r i a l

he te rogene i t y and i ncons i s t ency i n t o compu ta t i ona l means and me thods , t h i s

wo r k p r i es apa r t t he appa ren t l y seam less r e l a t i onsh ip be tween d i g i t a l des i gn

and phys i ca l p roduc t i on . By b l u r r i ng t he d i s t i nc t i on be tween phys i ca l ma te r i a l

and d i g i t a l f o rm , t h i s wo r k o f f e r s an i n t eg ra ted aes the t i c expe r i ence , one t ha t

f e t i sh i zes ne i t he r t he v i r t ua l no r t he v i n t age bu t f uses bo th i n t o a r i che r, w i l de r

p resen t .

Digital Materiallurgyon the productive force of deep codes and vital matter

Adam Fure

Univers i t y o f M ich igan

S IFT Stud io

ABSTRACT

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Figure 1. Robotic arm aiding brick construction

Fig. 1

1 Introduct ion

The cur ren t moment in a rch i tec tu ra l p roduct ion is marked by an unprecedented

leve l o f techno log ica l soph is t ica t ion. A t top schoo ls a round the wor ld , c rude

exper imenta t ion w i th d ig i ta l fo rm has deve loped in to h igh ly soph is t ica ted fo rma l

exper t i se . P ro fess iona l l y, the adopt ion and ex tens ion o f computa t ion in const ruc t ion

and eng ineer ing is rea l i z ing the fu tu re o f bu i ld ing fas te r than most can imag ine i t .

Advances in mater ia l sc ience a re c rea t ing the th innest , s t rongest , most dynamic

mater ia ls our f ie ld has ever seen. A l though these a re most l y pos i t i ve deve lopments ,

these innovat ions a lso br ing w i th them the burden o f de f in ing what comes nex t

fo r computa t ion and mater ia l p roduct ion w i th in the contex t o f specu la t i ve research.

As nove l ty tu rns fo rmu la ic , exper imenta t ion evo lves in to exper t i se , and theore t ica l

research dr i f ts in to ma ins t ream pract ice, p ressure is p laced on the d isc ip l ine to

deve lop broader d iscourses and const ruc t i ve new tangents .

The a rguments to fo l low cont r ibu te to th is genera l e f fo r t by scru t in i z ing the ro le

o f mater ia ls w i th in computa t ion, u l t imate ly p ropos ing a specu la t i ve work ing mode l

tha t char ts new te r r i to r y. The growing impor tance o f mater ia ls w i th in techno log ica l

research makes th is an appropr ia te t ime to cons ider the nuance o f the i r ro le w i th in i t .

Cur ren t l y, mate r ia l innovat ion is happen ing a long two cent ra l t racks: the customized

cut t ing, scu lp t ing, and fo rming o f convent iona l mate r ia ls w i th Computer Numer ica l l y

Cont ro l led (CNC) fabr ica t ion equ ipment and the deve lopment o f new mater ia ls th rough

innovat ions in mater ia l sc ience. Both t racks re ly on a l im i ted set o f mater ia l p ro toco ls

tha t enab le process-based cont ro l and e l im ina te the in t rus ion o f any unpred ic tab le

mater ia l va r iab le . A l though e f f ic ien t , such an approach l im i ts a rch i tec tu re ’s ab i l i t y to

p rocure nove l mater ia l engagements .

A few des igners a re fo recast ing an a l te rna t i ve mode l where computa t iona l codes a re

coup led w i th eccent r ic mater ia ls to p roduce unusua l resu l ts . The i r approach is par t

techn ique and par t a t t i tude; i t re l ies on in ten t iona l l y ced ing l im i ted des ign cont ro l

to unpred ic tab le mat te r—thus cap i ta l i z ing on mat te r ’s innate ab i l i t y to p roduce

unexpected fo rma l and mater ia l complex i t y. Wh i le ma in ly per iphera l to dominant

t rends, these pro jec ts may o f fe r p roduct i ve d ig ress ions. In th is essay I w i l l a t tempt

to theor i ze and s i tua te th is work by d is t ingu ish ing i t f rom preva i l i ng a t t i tudes o f

mater ia l agency in d ig i ta l fabr ica t ion. I w i l l then descr ibe in i t i a l a t tempts I have taken

to in tegra te these concepts in to my teach ing. U l t imate ly, these cont r ibu t ions a re not

meant to s tand as an a l te rna t i ve to cur ren t research, but ra ther as an a t tempt a t

p ro jec t ing i ts l im i ts .

2 Digita l Mater ia l i ty

The impor tance o f mater ia ls w i th in d ig i ta l p roduct ion has increased w i th the sh i f t

f rom the exc lus ive ly so f tware-based fo rma l exper iments o f the ear l y years , wh ich

took p lace in the immater ia l , v i r tua l p la t fo rms o f des ign so f tware , to the pro to typ ing

o f phys ica l a r t i fac ts wh ich, by necess i ty, account fo r rea l mate r ia l const ra in ts .

Inc reased access to CNC fabr ica t ion equ ipment has prov ided des igners the means

to tes t and deve lop methods o f work ing where d ig i ta l codes cyc le th rough phys ica l

const ruc t ion sequences. The work o f Zur ich-based a rch i tec ts Fab io Gramaz io and

Mat th ias Koh le r has gone fa r in deve lop ing the poss ib i l i t i es and th ink ing beh ind

th is type o f work . The i r exper iments w i th robots as an a id fo r const ruc t ion i l l us t ra te

the k ind o f cyc l ica l p rocess invo lved in the d ig i ta l cod ing o f mater ia l assembl ies

(F igure 1 ) . “D ig i ta l Mate r ia l i t y, ” as they have ca l led i t , de f ines a rch i tec tu re as the

des ign o f dynamic ru le-based processes tha t govern both d ig i ta l pa t te rn ing and

phys ica l assembly (Gramaz io and Koh le r 2008) . Th is open-ended opera t ion a l lows

fo r parameters to be changed th roughout the process, t r igger ing the o ther va r iab les

to respond and dynamica l l y update the who le . A l though the breadth o f Gramaz io and

Koh le r ’s work is impress ive and sure ly a ids the deve lopment o f new poss ib i l i t i es in

d ig i ta l l y -enhanced const ruc t ion techn iques, the ro le ac tua l mate r ia ls p lay in the i r

work is l im i ted and, in fac t , re f lec ts the dominant t rend in d ig i ta l fabr ica t ion.

Convent iona l l y, mate r ia l cho ices w i th in d ig i ta l fabr ica t ion a re governed by techn ica l

spec i f ica t ions—a l im i ted set o f phys ica l characte r is t ics tha t dete rmine how a mater ia l

computation, formation and materiality

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wi l l i n te r face w i th a spec i f ic mach ine. Two-d imens iona l cu t t ing w i th a laser o r abras ive

wate r je t requ i res sheet mater ia ls w i th p rec ise, un i fo rm th ickness. Thermo- fo rming,

o f ten used to fo rm p las t ic over CNC fabr ica ted mo lds, requ i res mater ia ls made o f

cons is ten t chemica l compounds tha t me l t even ly under spec i f ic tempera tu res. CNC

rout ing and mi l l i ng requ i re mono l i th ic , mo ldab le mater ia ls tha t can be sys temat ica l l y

car ved by mach in ing too ls . In th is wor ld , to le rance governs ever y th ing—and tha t

to le rance leaves no room fo r mater ia l eccent r ic i t ies .

Th is l im i ted mater ia l scope is der i ved, in par t , f rom the s tandard pro toco ls o f CNC

mach in ing, but i t a lso re f lec ts the dominant goa l o f most d ig i ta l fabr ica t ion: to p roduce

phys ica l a r t i fac ts tha t resemble , as c lose ly as poss ib le , the computer mode ls f rom

wh ich they o r ig ina te . W i th in such a schema, mater ia ls a re cast as iner t mat te r wa i t ing

to be fo rmed, re legated to a pos i t ion o f subser v ience to d ig i ta l pa t te rns. To counte r

th is pos i t ion I w i l l pu t fo r th a mode l o f work ing tha t i s based on an in ten t iona l

looseness, a p roduct i ve s lack between mater ia ls—inc lud ing the i r tex tu res, shapes,

and co lo rs—and d ig i ta l fo rm. I ca l l th is method o f work ing d ig i ta l mate r ia l lu rgy ; a p lay

on the anc ien t c ra f t o f meta l lu rgy.

3 Digita l Mater ia l lurgy

Medieva l meta l lu rgy is a p rocess by wh ich c rude human act ions gu ide the fo rmat ion

o f an imate meta l . The in te rna l work ings o f ac tua l mo lecu la r fo rmat ion rema ined a

myste r y fo r centu r ies , necess i ta t ing the deve lopment o f techn iques tha t work the

mater ia l f rom the outs ide. The b lacksmi th , in o ther words, s imp ly gu ides meta l l i c

deve lopment , knowing a l l the wh i le tha t she can on ly manage such a vo la t i l e mater ia l .

The actua l p rocess o f fo rming a sword, fo r example , invo lves co ld work ing the s tee l—

hammer ing i ts hard edge wh i le co ld and so l id—then annea l ing i t by heat ing the sword

to jus t be low the s tee l ’s me l t ing po in t and s low ly coo l ing i t . Through such opera t ions,

a b lacksmi th is ab le to cont ro l the per fo rmance capab i l i t i es o f the sword, mak ing the

edge hard enough to ma in ta in i ts sharpness, and the body duct i le enough to absorb

the impact o f o ther ob jec ts . Contemporar y meta l lu rgy, however, has abandoned

these anc ien t techn iques, work ing ins tead on actua l mo lecu la r fo rmat ion.

Manue l de Landa, in a recent essay, exp la ins the mo lecu la r p rocess o f meta l lu rgy and

how i t i s in fo rming contemporar y research in the f ie ld (De Landa 2006) . To summar i ze ,

as meta l ha rdens a f te r be ing heated to a mo l ten s ta te i t s ta r ts to c r ys ta l l i ze . The

c r ys ta l l i za t ion beg ins a t loca l i zed moments in the meta l and as these zones expand

they meet and fo rm sma l l boundar ies between them. As ad jacent pa tches c r ys ta l l i ze

a t s l igh t l y d i f fe ren t ang les they a re unab le to fu l l y adhere a long these connect i ve

l ines, u l t imate ly c rea t ing l inear de fects where the s tee l i s most l i ke ly to fa i l . Cur ren t

research is a t tempt ing to min im ize the e f fec ts o f these imper fec t ions, d is t r ibu t ing

them in sys temat ic ways th roughout the body o f the meta l by gu id ing the i r mo lecu la r

fo rmat ions (De Landa 2006) . The hammer, in o ther words, i s long gone.

Taken as an ana log fo r the evo lu t ion o f a rch i tec tu ra l des ign, th is example presents

an in te res t ing cho ice. Do we, as des igners , fo l low the example o f the contemporar y

mo lecu la r meta l lu rg is ts and work our mater ia l fo rmat ions f rom the a toms up, o r do

we work as the anc ien t meta l lu rg is ts d id , a l low ing mat te r to fo rm i tse l f , shap ing i t

th rough exped ient means? A l though techno log ica l p rogress tends toward the fo rmer, I

advocate a tu rn toward the la t te r fo r a few s imp le reasons. F i rs t l y, regard ing mater ia ls

as dynamic agents in d ig i ta l fabr ica t ion encourages nove l t rea tments o f convent iona l

mater ia ls , wh ich a re too o f ten gu ided by to le rances and not nove l ty o r express iv i t y.

Add i t iona l l y, a t t i tudes tha t seek to ac t i va te mat te r po in t us towards mater ia ls tha t

a re typ ica l l y over looked, u l t imate ly a l low ing us to tap more fe r t i l e mater ia l g round.

F ina l l y, combin ing d ig i ta l techn iques w i th an imate mater ia ls o f ten supersedes the

poss ib i l i t i es a f fo rded by e i ther to ta l techn ica l cont ro l o r mater ia l pur i t y. By increas ing

sens i t i v i t y to the un ique capac i t ies o f computa t ion and mater ia l i t y des igners a re more

ab le to c ra f t p ragmat ic des ign so lu t ions tha t u t i l i ze the un ique capac i t ies o f both .

G iv ing mater ia ls space to un fo ld na tu ra l l y a l lows one to harness the i r inna te

capac i t ies . Mater ia ls have a lways possessed a de fau l t agency in es tab l i sh ing

a rch i tec tu re ’s qua l i ta t i ve d imens ion. They denote the te r r i to r y where our bod ies

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engage a rch i tec tu re ’s phys ica l i t y—a zone o f in te rac t ion tha t can engender a b road

range o f human exper iences, some tha t s t imu la te the re t ina , some tha t p rod the sk in ,

and some tha t se t the mood. Mater ia ls p rovoke re fe rences and assoc ia t ions tha t

connect a rch i tec tu re to o ther domains o f cu l tu ra l p roduct ion. When mater ia ls a re

s tamped in to preex is t ing fo rms, however, they lose the i r inna te express iv i t y in o rder

to take on the characte r is t ics o f the mo ld. I am advocat ing fo r a degree o f in ten t iona l

chaos; a d iscre te lack o f cont ro l wh ich a f fo rds mater ia ls space to do what they do

on the i r own, w i th l i t t l e to no techn ica l in te r vent ion.

Th is l i ne o f th ink ing f inds suppor t in the wr i t ing o f Sanfo rd Kwin te r, who, e labora t ing

on the work o f Rem Koo lhaas, puts fo r th one o f the most poet ic accounts o f

a rch i tec tu ra l mate r ia l i sm to date (Kwin te r 1996) . In h is essay “F ly ing the Bu l le t , o r

When d id the Futu re Beg in?” he es tab l i shes an approach to des ign wh ich re l ies on

an engagement w i th an act i ve , v i ta l mat te r :

“…th is rad ica l v iew o f mater ia l i t y i s a per fec t l y ac t i ve , f lu id and mob i le one: i t

descr ibes a mater ia l i t y tha t ac tua l l y moves and changes as i t i s worked, one tha t

enve lops and re leases i ts own spontaneous proper t ies o r t ra i ts , car r ies i ts own

capac i t ies to express i tse l f in fo rm—al l beyond the a rb i t ra r y reach o f ex te rna l cont ro l ”

(Kwin te r 1996: 69) .

Material formations, in other words, need not be determined by the techniques and

types that make up the canon of one’s discipl ine; rather, they extend from the productive

coupling of those techniques with the animate propert ies of matter. Designers must seize

these productive capacit ies to produce novel arrangements. Modern technical paradigms

advocate an approach that shies away from material col laboration for an “arid continuum of

numbers,” where it is more important to abstract material processes into a set of equations

than it is to tap its potential (Kwinter 1996: 70). Such an att i tude reduces the complexity

of material morphology by reducing it to predictable models that are then substantiated

in some new medium. The approach advocated by Kwinter is more dynamic—using it,

one intuit ively senses the feral forces of matter, and guides them with whatever means

possible. As Kwinter writes:

“To fol low the movements of matter, to seize the prodigious blooms of ‘work’ that emerge

‘for free’ at certain crit ical moments in matter ’s free and irregular f low, is to col laborate with,

and actual ly develop, the unfolding of a vital ist universe, to tap both its powerful inevitabi l i ty

and its vast, though subtle, potential; to merge with that f luid universe, to both guide and

be guided by its unchallengeable, inexhaustible, but ful ly intuitable eff icacy (Kwinter 1996:

70).”

Before I enl ist Kwinter as a supporter of the arguments put forth in this essay, I should

make clear that the kind of material i ty Kwinter is describing is much broader than the

one being described here. He and Koolhaas are more concerned with the f low of actual

historical condit ions as their working material i ty. However, the poetics and the att i tude put

forth by Kwinter are entirely translatable to the more modest scale of physical prototyping

and architectural bui lding materials. Perhaps the “free work” that Kwinter al ludes to may

be redefined, in the current context, as the affective potential of material propert ies or the

cultural associations offered by a part icular palette. Whatever the case, it can be said that

materials do work; and part of our job as designers is sometimes simply to let them do it,

al l the while attempting to support, extend, and guide them.

3.1 DIGITAL MATERIALLURGY AT WORK

A small group of designers is developing this approach through a close col laboration

between technology and materials. Their work deploys deep codes, which I define as

orders and patterns that are at work somewhere in the structure of a thing, but are often

covered up by some form of messy material i ty. Computation is ful ly enabled, but in

support of the physical, textural qual it ies of the eventual material ization. By being buried,

something happens on the way up to the “surface”—a productive coupling of the chaotic

and the control led, which determines the physical characterist ics of the f inal assembly, the

specif icit ies of which cannot be predicted a priori.

computation, formation and materiality

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P-Wa l l , a p ro jec t by Andrew Kud less o f Ma tsys , d i sp lays cha rac te r i s t i cs o f d ig i t a l

ma te r i a l l u rgy (F igure 2 ) . Remin i scen t o f M igue l F i sac ’s expe r imen ts w i th f l ex ib le

conc re te fo rmwork , Kud less ’ P_Wa l l comb ines d ig i t a l l y -a ided e las t i c fo rmwork and

common p las te r. A compute r-gene ra ted pa t te rn o f po in ts i s t r ans la ted i n to suppor ts

fo r the e las t i c f ab r i c . L iqu id p las te r i s then pou red i n to the fo rmwork , caus ing

the fab r i c to expand unde r i t s we igh t . The p las te r bu lges i r r egu la r l y, fo l l ow ing the

pa t te rn o f suppor ts by sagg ing w ide r and deeper i n a reas o f l ess cons t ra in t . Th rough

ve r y s imp le techn iques Kud less i s ab le to p rov ide an a rena fo r p las te r to behave

as p las te r, wh i l e gu id ing i t s fo rma t ion th rough sub t l e p ressu re po in ts . Pe rcep tua l l y,

t he p iece revea ls a f l uc tua t i ng v i s ib i l i t y o f the two sys tems—when v iewed f ron ta l l y,

t he imposed o rde r o f the g r idded pane ls and the suppor t po in ts a re v i s ib le ; when

v iewed ob l ique l y those pa t te rns d i sso l ve i n to a l andscape o f sensuous l umps.

Another pro ject that exp lo i ts the gap between computat ion and mater ia l rea l i zat ion is

Red Sea, a pro ject by SOFTlab in co l laborat ion wi th ar t is t Michael Somorof f (F igure 3) .

Fo r th i s l a rge-sca le scu lp tu re , made o f a f renz ied mass o f roughhewn wood s t i cks ,

SOFT lab c rea ted a pa ramet r i c compute r mode l whe re i r r egu la r p ieces o f wood

a re abs t rac ted i n to l i nes and a r rayed pe rpend icu la r to an undu la t i ng su r face . A

random func t ion fu r the r va r i es the o r i en ta t i on o f the l i nes to the su r face , mak ing the

mode l p rog ress i ve l y more chao t i c and fu r r y. The d ig i t a l mode l a l so a ids the ac tua l

cons t ruc t ion , whe re the abs t rac t l i nes a re t r ans la ted i n to assemb ly po in ts fo r the

wood members . The f i na l resu l t i s a th ick p i l e o f j agged wood, sp i ra l i ng upward i n

pa t te rns tha t a re o rde red j us t enough to no t appea r random.

In bo th SOFT lab ’s Red Sea and Kud less ’ P_Wa l l unp red ic tab le ou tcomes occu r i n

the ac t o f cons t ruc t ion . A p ro jec t tha t cu r ious l y s lows down the p rocess o f d ig i t a l

ma te r i a l l u rgy to the pace o f na tu ra l decay i s Raspber r y F ie lds by Jason Payne o f

H i r su ta (F igures 4 , 5 ) . I n add i t i on , th i s p ro jec t ex tends the cu r ren t d i scuss ion

wh ich , up un t i l t h i s po in t , has pe r ta ined mos t l y to p rocess i n to the rea lm o f

aes the t i cs . The p ro jec t i s a renova t ion o f an o ld one- room schoo lhouse i n U tah .

Due to i t s o r i en ta t i on i n an open f i e ld , one s ide o f the bu i ld ing ge ts exposed to the

wea the r more than the o the r. When v i s i t i ng the schoo lhouse , Payne no t i ced tha t

the wood-s la t s id ing on the exposed s ide had d r i ed ou t and cu r l ed up , p roduc ing

a d i s t i nc t tex tu re . I ns tead o f dev i s ing a so lu t i on to res i s t t he e f fec ts o f wea the r i ng ,

Payne s ta r ted to th ink abou t ways to embrace and amp l i f y i t . H is so lu t i on was to

de l ibe ra te l y m isuse wood sh ing les . He does th i s i n two ways : f i r s t , he changes

the p ropo r t i ons f rom w ide to th in and second, he changes the o r i en ta t i on o f the

g ra in to encou rage the cu r l t ha t happens na tu ra l l y f rom the wea the r i ng p rocess .

Ove r t ime , the façade goes f rom tau t and o rde red to shaggy and w i ld . As such ,

he rede f i nes the p ro toco ls o f common sh ing l i ng—an in ten t iona l m isapp l i ca t i on o f

a s tanda rd bu i ld ing mate r i a l . Wha t wou ld be cons ide red a fa i l u re i n the con tex t o f

u t i l i t y, o r poe t i c i n the con tex t o f ma te r i a l en t ropy, i s pushed toward someth ing

e l se , someth ing more en igmat ic .

Payne ’s essay “Ha i r and Makeup, ” o f fe rs some ins igh t i n to the pecu l i a r qua l i t i es

o f h i s work (Payne 2009 ) . Fo r Payne , ma te r i a l s and the i r supe r f i c i a l a l t e ra t i ons

a re used as i ns t rumen ts to sw ing a bu i ld ing ’s a f fec t i ve pos tu re , s im i l a r to the way

tha t ha i r and makeup enhance a mus ic i an ’s sound in o rde r to cons t ruc t a to ta l

image . Fa r f rom supe r f l uous , cosmet ic enhancements a re v i t a l to the pos i t i on ing o f

a p ro jec t—es tab l i sh ing l i nks to unexpec ted con tex ts , a f f i l i a t i ons , and aud iences .

W i th th i s i n m ind , the mot i va t i ons beh ind Payne ’s subsequen t ma te r i a l ope ra t i ons

become c lea re r. On the backs ide o f the sh ing les i s a v ib ran t co lo r f i e ld o f pu rp le ,

ye l l ow, and o range , wh ich i s i n i t i a l l y h idden bu t ove r t ime i s revea led w i th the

aged cu r l i ng o f the wood; thus p roduc ing an eve r-chang ing a r ray o f v ib ran t l y - toned

ye t s imu l taneous l y -decay ing co lo r. Fu r the r, t he g loba l pa t te rn o f cu r l i s gu ided by

the cu r va tu re o f the unde r l y i ng su r face , wh ich Payne d ig i t a l l y scu lp ts i n o rde r to

encou rage ex t ra tang le i n i t s c rev ices

These f i na l re f i nements aes the t i ca l l y cha rge the r i ch tex tu res p roduced by d ig i t a l

ma te r i a l l u rgy. Tak ing a func t ion o f a na tu ra l ma te r i a l p rocess—the wea the r i ng o f

wood—and d ig i t a l l y a l t e r i ng and amp l i f y i ng i t , Payne i s ab le to p roduce an odd

Figure 2. P-Wall

Figure 3. Red Sea

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

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mix tu re o f seeming l y i ncompat ib le sens ib i l i t i es : the cosmet ic and the en t rop ic .

Wha t wou ld be poe t i ca l l y p rese r ved , f r amed, and d isp layed as an i nev i t ab le , na tu ra l

occu r rence i n the work o f more roman t ic a rch i tec ts , i s he re exp lo i t ed , pe r ve r ted ,

and ben t toward new a f fec t i ve and assoc ia t i ve te r ra in—inc lud ing Payne ’s ca ree r-

long i n te res t i n ha i r. I n te res t i ng l y, th i s f asc ina t ion i s no t l im i ted to ac tua l ha i r y

ma te r i a l s ( a l t hough he uses those i n o the r p ro jec ts ) ; r a the r, t he h i r su te , as a ma te r i a l

p rope r t y, and ha i r-s t y l i ng , as an ove r t fo rm o f exp ress ion , a re i ns tan t i a ted i n the

mos t o rd ina r y o f ma te r i a l s . I n Raspber r y F ie lds , Payne su r f s the en t ropy o f the ag ing

wood, cap i t a l i z i ng on the “work fo r f r ee ” a l l uded to by Kw in te r. S tanda rd mate r i a l s

and p ro toco ls a re ex tended th rough a m ix tu re o f geomet r i c ca l i b ra t i on and ove r t ,

s t y l i s t i c man ipu la t i ons , expand ing the i r capac i t y to p rocu re nove l assoc ia t i ons and

gene ra te exo t i c tex tu res . H is work i s as much cu l tu ra l as i t i s na tu ra l , as much

aes the t i c as i t i s morphogene t i c .

3.2 DIGITAL MATERIALLURGY AT PLAY

I f i r s t a t tempted to fo ld d ig i t a l ma te r i a l l u rgy i n to an academic se t t i ng i n a cou rse

co- taugh t w i th E l l i e Ab rons a t the Un i ve rs i t y o f M ich igan ’s Taubman Co l l ege o f

A rch i tec tu re and Urban P lann ing . The Mate r i a l F r i nge , as i t was t i t l ed , sough t

to expand the d i scou rse a round mate r i a l s and computa t i on by comb in ing d ig i t a l

t echn iques w i th ma te r i a l exp lo ra t i on . The cou rse focused in i t i a l l y on hands-on ,

phys ica l expe r imen ta t i on w i th va r ious k inds o f “ f r i nge mat te r ”—genera l l y byp roduc ts

o f manu fac tu r i ng s t reams o r recyc led bu i ld ing mate r i a l s ga the red loca l l y. The

mate r i a l s , e i t he r i r r egu la r cas t -o f f s o f regu la r ma te r i a l s o r non-modu la r ma te r i a l s

w i th no v i s ib le l og ic o f cons t ruc t ion , a l l r equ i red some deg ree o f nons tanda rd

deve lopment . Work ing i n g roups , the s tuden ts were ass igned a spec i f i c ma te r i a l

and cha rged w i th the task o f t r ans la t i ng i t i n to a v i ab le a rch i tec tu ra l ma te r i a l .

Me thods o f assemb ly we re deve loped th rough r i go rous s tud ies o f ma te r i a l behav io r.

Tendenc ies were qu ick l y iden t i f i ed : pa r t i cu la te ma te r i a l s we re l i ke l y to bunch and

Figure 4. Roof Mockup of Raspberry Fields in

‘Rawhide’ Exhibition Credit: Joshua White

Figure 5. Raspberry Fields Detail

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Fig. 4

Fig. 5

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integration through computationacadia 2011 _proceedings

p i l e wh i l e b locks and s t i cks o f ten s tacked, f i b rous mate r i a l s we re woven and

bund led wh i l e su r faces were d raped. Crude expe r imen ts l ed to the deve lopment o f

re f i ned techn iques , cu lm ina t i ng i n a ca ta logue o f work ing mate r i a l ope ra t i ons fo r

each g roup .

Our i n t roduc t ion o f d ig i t a l t echn iques was s t ra teg ic and measu red . I ns tead o f

impos ing idea l geomet r i es on to the mate r i a l s f rom the “ou ts ide , ” the d ig i t a l wo rk

focused on ex tend ing the capab i l i t i es o f the mate r i a l s themse l ves , enab l i ng them to

agg rega te i n ways they cou ld no t o the rw ise . S tuden ts iden t i f i ed mate r i a l l im i t a t i ons

tha t cou ld be med ia ted by d ig i t a l l y p roduced, ex t r i ns ic sys tems. Pa r t i cu la te

ma te r i a l s , fo r examp le , had no way o f bu i ld ing up subs tan t i a l mass and requ i red

a r t i f i c i a l suppor t . F lex ib le su r face mate r i a l s needed to d rape ove r a subs t ra te i n

o rde r to cove r l a rge r a reas . P rob lems such as these de f i ned the con tex t i n wh ich

the d ig i t a l was dep loyed .

Two pro jec ts typ i f y the work o f the seminar. The f i rs t g roup used cu l le t , a mix tu re of

var ious s izes of broken glass lef t over f rom f loat g lass manufactur ing (Figure 6) . The

ma jo r cha l lenge w i th th is mater ia l i s adher ing ind iv idua l shards together to fo rm la rger

sur faces. A f te r numerous fa i led a t tempts a t bond ing s ing le p ieces, the s tudents

tu rned to cast ing, a common techn ique fo r incorpora t ing par t icu la te mater ia ls in to

compos i tes . A t th is po in t , d ig i ta l techn iques were incorpora ted as a means to

surpass the poss ib i l i t i es o f s tandard cast ing, wh ich t rea ts mat te r as iner t f i l l fo r

s tandard ized mo lds, thereby produc ing ident ica l bu i ld ing b locks tha t p red ic tab ly

s tack o r fas ten. Re jec t ing th is approach, the s tudents t rea ted the i r mo ld as a l i ve

sur face—a dynamic templa te tha t p roduced a f luc tua t ing re la t ionsh ip between mold

and mat te r. Mater ia l techn iques were then deve loped to p lay o f f the cur va tu re o f

the undu la t ing, CNC-routed mo ld, p roduc ing var iab i l i t y in t rans lucency, tex tu re , and

th ickness. The d is t r ibu t ion o f cu l le t w i th in the mo ld va r ied—somet imes fo l low ing

the geomet r y by poo l ing in depress ions and th inn ing a t peaks, and a t o ther t imes

genera t ing i ts own pat te rns tha t washed over the mo ld in unpred ic tab le ways. A t

po in ts , the cu l le t rose above the l ip o f the mo ld, expos ing i ts jagged edges above

the sur face o f the f ina l res in cas t . The layered natu re o f the process produced a cast

w i th two qua l i ta t i ve ly d i f fe ren t s ides. One s ide took the shape o f the mo ld, mask ing

mater ia l changes beh ind smooth cur va tu re and d is to r t ing s i lhouet tes th rough f lu id

changes o f t rans lucency, tex tu re , and co lo r, wh i le the o ther s ide appeared on ly

fa in t l y more o rdered than a p i le o f b roken g lass. Thus, the t races o f the d ig i ta l were

on ly v is ib le in the cur va tu re o f the smooth s ide, wh i le the rough s ide bur ied those

t races beneath a th ick i r regu la r tex tu re .

A second pro jec t i l l us t ra tes a d i f fe ren t approach w i th in the course where nove l

poss ib i l i t i es were deve loped out o f exper iments w i th s tandard mater ia ls—in th is case

recyc led aspha l t sh ing les (F igure 7 ) . S ince th is mater ia l came equ ipped w i th i ts own

log ic o f assembly, the cha l lenge was f ind ing o ther log ics tha t were la ten t in the mater ia l

and cou ld be brought about by a l te rna t i ve use or a r t i f i c ia l suppor t . S tudents began

by re th ink ing the pat te rn ing o f t yp ica l sh ing l ing, tes t ing opt ions w i th th inner p ieces

cut f rom the i r i r regu la r s tock. Eventua l l y, the ident ica l repet i t ion o f s tandard sh ing l ing

was abandoned fo r va r iab le pat te rns tha t bordered on s tochast ic . The exper iments

a lso mod i f ied the overa l l sect ion o f the sur face: p i l i ng up to c rea te a th ick mass or

hang ing f rom above as th in s t r ips . The sh ing les were suppor ted by a doub ly-cur ved

subst ruc tu re compr ised o f r ibs w i th sma l l s lo ts to ho ld the sh ing les . Each s lo t was

car ved a t a d i f fe ren t ang le re la t i ve to the r ib , a l te r ing the o r ien ta t ion o f the sh ing les to

the sur face be low. The suppor t s t ruc tu re ’s care fu l l y ca l ib ra ted po in ts were negot ia ted

by the eccent r ic p roper t ies o f the sh ing les , wh ich s imu l taneous ly confo rmed to them

and obscured the i r exact i tude th rough a we lcomed messy mater ia l i t y.

Overa l l , the seminar p rov ided an oppor tun i ty to th ink about the complex re la t ionsh ip

between nove l ty and techn ica l exper t i se . The re la t ionsh ip is a cha l leng ing one to

nav iga te—whi le focus and spec i f ic i t y beget exper t i se they can a lso d iscourage

more exper imenta l approaches to research. In th is course, mater ia l exper imenta t ion

prov ided a contex t fo r nove l ty to emerge th rough an unscr ip ted set o f in i t i a l

inves t iga t ions tha t were on ly eventua l l y a ided by d ig i ta l techn iques. Computa t iona l Figure 6. Material Fringe project using glass cullet

Fig. 6

97

exper t i se was not an end in i tse l f , bu t ra ther a means o f ex tend ing the resu l ts o f some

other fo rm o f exper imenta l p rac t ice—in th is case, mater ia l innovat ion. Thus, the work

avo ided a react ionar y pos i t ion o f p ick ing mat te r over (d ig i ta l ) fo rm by ins is t ing on the

product i v i t y o f both .

4 Conclusion

These pro jec ts , and o thers l i ke them, fo recast a fu tu re where the cont ro l resu l t ing

f rom convent iona l techno log ica l p rocesses is in ten t iona l l y re laxed in o rder to mine

the gap between the coded and the chaot ic . I p resent them, not as a ca l l to abandon

o ther fo rms o f techno log ica l research, but as a means o f exp lo r ing new specu la t i ve

g round. Cer ta in l y, innovat ions in mater ia l sc ience, advanced eng ineer ing, and

env i ronmenta l l y respons ive sys tems are necessar y—and our best chance a t t ru l y

sus ta inab le p ract ices. In the broad name o f research however, we must constant l y

seek out p ro jec t i ve te r ra in tha t opens up nove l tangents . I o f fe r d ig i ta l mate r ia l lu rgy

as one such t ra jec to r y.

D ig i ta l mate r ia l lu rgy ident i f i es the in te rsect ion o f computa t ion and eccent r ic

mater ia l i t y as a depar tu re po in t fo r a rch i tec tu ra l innovat ion. The purposefu l and

d i rec ted inser t ion o f mater ia l he te rogene i ty and incons is tency in to computa t iona l

means and methods can ser ve to p r y apar t the apparent l y seamless re la t ionsh ip

between d ig i ta l des ign and phys ica l p roduct ion. U l t imate ly, by b lu r r ing the d is t inc t ion

between phys ica l mate r ia l and d ig i ta l fo rm, a rch i tec tu re can o f fe r a more in tegra ted,

s ta r t l i ng , aes thet ic exper ience, one tha t fe t i sh i zes ne i ther the v i r tua l nor the v in tage

but fuses both in to a r icher, w i lder p resent .

References

De Landa, M. 2006. The impor tance o f imper fec t ions. Domus 888: 136-137.

Gramaz io , F. , and M. Koh le r. 2008. D ig i ta l mate r ia l i t y in a rch i tec tu re . Baden: Lars

Mü l le r.

Kwin te r, S. 1996. F ly ing the bu l le t , o r when d id the fu tu re beg in? Arch i tec tu re a t

R ice 30: 67-93.

Payne, Jason. 2009. Ha i r and Makeup. Log 17: 41-48.

Figure 7. Material Fringe project using used

asphalt shingles

Fig. 7

computation, formation and materiality