Reprogramming practice: revising design thinking through digital fabrication

Abstract

Questioning the importance and impact of design thinking methodologies in the architectural design studios is a backbone of architectural education in twenty first century 3D printing and digital manufacturing are disruptive technologies that are changing architects and designers daily lives. These trends require new skills, based on a deep understanding of digital continuum from design to production, from generation to fabrication. This continuity transcends the merely instrumental contributions of a person-machine relationship to praxis, has begun to evolve as a medium that supports a continuous logic of design thinking and making. Design thinking methodologies associated with digital fabrication emerged as a leading technological and design issue of digital research and design. As designers, we are witnessing a no frontier between computational design and digital fabrication. For this paper is taken into consideration the work of two architecture studios that share a unique background on new methodologies by embracing the digital technology in their own practice. Their work reflects on new design methodologies facing the expansion of digital technology in architectural practice. This paper discusses the possibility of new design thinking methods driven by digital fabrication.