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Modularisation is a well-known method of reducing code complexity, yet architects are unlikely to modularise their visual scripts. In this paper the impact that modules used in visual scripts have on the architectural design process is investigated with regard to legibility, collaboration, reuse and design modification.Through a series of thinking-aloud interviews, and through the collaborative design and construction of the parametric Dermoid pavilion, modules are found to impact the culture of collaborative design in architecture through relatively minor alterations to how architects organise visual scripts.

This paper discusses the issues of designing architectural skins that can be physically morphed to adapt to changing needs. To achieve this architectural vision, designers have focused on developing mechanical joints, components, and systems for actuation and kinetic transformation. However, the unexplored approach of using lightweight elastic form-changing materials provides an opportunity for designing responsive architectural skins and skeletons with fewer mechanical operations. This research aims to develop elastic modular systems that can be applied as a second skin or brise-soleil to existing buildings. The use of the second skin has the potential to allow existing buildings to perform better in various climatic conditions and to provide a visually compelling skin. This approach is evaluated through three design experiments with prototypes, namely Tent, Curtain and Blind, to serve two fundamental purposes: Comfort and Communication. These experimental prototypes explore the use of digital and physical computation embedded in form-changing materials to design architectural morphing skins that manipulate sunlight and act as responsive shading devices.

The term ‘Digital Craft’ is commonly applied in the context of craft as exercised with the aid of digital technology. If the application of digital tools and techniques merits the term digital craft, then where does the craft lie in Computer Numeric Control (CNC) making? This article takes the position that craft practice is rooted in the relationship between materials, tools and techniques as an intricate workflow. We suggest that the workflow can be considered as autopoietic in nature, in that it is both self-referential and self-making, at the same time as continuously designing. Through this, digital fabrication can be seen as a practice that co-evolves technology and material systems. The first author took a step back and reconsidered David Pye’s theory of making in relationship to digital craft practice. This is later cross-examined with a series of semi-structured interviews with contemporary craft practitioners, to devise a systematic approach to the analysis of craft practices. This research stems from the first author’s background in architecture, whose design practice is craft based using digital fabrication technology. Through this research, we examined making as a means of generating design knowledge in the process. The article suggests that the authenticity of craft lies within the deeper structure of the practice: the formation of repertoire where its social and cultural meaning is derived through coupling the practice with other systems.

The ubiquitous computing era has pushed the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry towards new frontiers of digitally enabled practice. Are these the frontiers originally identified by the pioneers in the field? Architectural design has progressively shifted from two-dimensional paper based pencil sketched models to digital models drawn in various Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools. The recent adoption of parametric modeling tools from the aerospace industry has been driven by the need for tools that can assist in rapid flexible modeling. The adaptation of parametric modeling has reformed both pedagogy and practice of architectural design. The question remains if parametric design has answered all the requirements specified by Steven Anson Coons in his 1963 proposal for a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) system. Given the growth of computational power and ubiquitous computing, how has CAD met the visions of its pioneers with respect to the flexibility and ease of communication with the computer and support of simultaneous design conversations with many designers working on the same project? This paper will revisit ideas conceived by the early inventors of CAD, explore the opportunities for advancing parametric modeling with the existing ubiquitous computing infrastructure, and introduces the notion of software openness to support creativity and multidisciplinary design integration.