Computational Design of Parametric Scripts for Digital Fabrication of Curved Structures

Abstract

This paper explores strategies for building toolchains to design, develop and fabricate architectural designs. It explains how complex curved structures can be constructed from flat standard panels. The hypothesis of this research is that by embedding ruled based procedures addressing generative, variational, iterative, and fabricational logics into early phases of design, both design techniques and digital fabrication methods can merge to solve a recurrent problem in contemporary architectural design, building double curved structures. Furthermore it achieves this using common fabrication methods and standard construction materials. It describes the processes of programming computational tools creating and developing designs to fabricate continuous complex curved structures. I describe this through a series of experiments, using parametric design environments and scripted functions, implementing certain techniques to fabricate these designs using rapid prototyping machines. Comparing different design and fabrication approaches I offer a discussion about universal application of programmed procedures into architectural design.