An Inquiry on Analogue and Digital Making Processes in Architecture: Craft and Fabrication within the scope of Masonry Structures

Year 2025, Volume: 6 Issue: 1, 37 - 66, 31.03.2025

Mina Hazal Taşcı , Sevil Yazıcı

https://doi.org/10.53710/jcode.1506394

Abstract

Advancements in computational technologies have undisputedly a significant impact on many disciplines, including architecture –a field epistemological dependent on the knowledge of realizing a projection in the mind. Computers play indispensably essential roles in both the design and fabrication phases of the discipline. The inquiry in this article begins with an attempt to understand what it means to ‘make’ in today’s world and then make a comparison via a chronological approach to reveal the transformation of making. The research emphasizes various
ways to make to represent the transformation. The masonry construction, one of the oldest building techniques in the history of architecture, selected and analyzed in more detail to provide a base to interpret different craft methods. Thus, the inquiry is focused on the gradual transformation between historical ways to make, conventional approaches, and digital fabrications. The gradual evolution of ways to make shows that the underlying logic of digital fabrication does not categorically contradict the nature of making, but rather it has become a novel mode of craft.

Keywords

Craft, computational design, digital fabrication, masonry

Mimarlıkta Analog ve Sayısal Yapım Süreçleri Üzerine Bir İnceleme: Yığma Yapılar kapsamında Zanaat ve Üretim

Abstract

Hesaplamalı teknolojilerdeki ilerlemeler, epistemolojik olarak zihindeki bir projeksiyonu gerçekleştirme bilgisine bağlı bir alan olan mimarlık da dahil olmak üzere pek çok disiplin üzerinde, tartışmasız önemli bir etkiye sahiptir. Bilgisayarlar, disiplinin hem tasarım hem de üretim aşamalarında vazgeçilmez bir rol oynamaktadır. Bu çalışma kapsamındaki inceleme, günümüz dünyasında ‘yapmanın’ ne anlama geldiğini anlamaya çalışmakla başladıktan sonra, kronolojik bir yaklaşımla karşılaştırma yaparak yapmanın dönüşümünü ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Araştırma, dönüşümü temsil etmek adına çeşitli yollarını vurgular. Mimarlık tarihindeki en eski yapı tekniklerinden biri olan yığma yapı prensipleri, farklı zanaat yöntemlerinin yorumlanabilmesinde temel oluşturması için seçilip daha ayrıntılı olarak analiz edilmiştir. Bu nedenle araştırma, tarihi üretim yöntemleri, geleneksel yaklaşımlar ve sayısal imalat arasındaki kademeli dönüşüme odaklanmaktadır. Yapma yollarının gelişimi, sayısal üretimin altında yatan mantığın, kategorik olarak yapmanın doğasıyla çelişmediğini, daha ziyade yeni bir zanaat tarzı haline geldiğini göstermektedir.

Keywords

Zanaat, hesaplamalı tasarım, sayısal üretim, yığma yapı

References

• Ahlquist, S., Fleischmann M. (2008). Elemental methods for integrated architectures: Experimentation with design processes for cable net structures. International Journal of Architectural Computing, 6(4), 453-475. https://doi.org/10.1260/147807708787523259
• Anderson, J., Tang, M. (2014). Crafting soft geometry: Form and materials informing analog and digital craft processes. In Proceedings of The Iber0-American Society of Digital Graphics (SIGRADI) 2014 (pp.183-186).
• ArchEyes (2020). La Ricarda House or Casa Gomis/Antoni Bonet I Castellana, July, https://archeyes.com/la-ricarda-house-or-casa-gomis-antonibonet-i-castellana. Accessed 01 March 2023.
• Asanowicz, A. (2012). Design: analogue, digital, and somewhere in between. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 30 (pp. 263-270). http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaade2012_39.content.pdf
• Bensley-Nettheim, T. (2020, April 14). Bricklayers meet augmented reality. Australian Design Review. Retrieved 29 November 2024, from https://www.australiandesignreview.com/architecture/bricklayersmeet-augmented-reality/.
• Bevilacqua, F. (2021). Augmented reality and cardboard models: New possibilities for the design of interior spaces and furniture based on the link between analog and digital. In Proceedings of SIGRADI 2021 (pp. 501-510). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/sigradi2021_37.pdf
• Breasted (ed.) (1933). Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization: Planoconvex Bricks and the methods of their employment, The Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago.
• Bunnings Warehouse (2015, June). Bricklaying 101: How to build a brick wall. YouTube. Retrieved 26 February 2023 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExltDReEdno.
• Burry, J. (2010). The shifting ground of architectural geometry. Architectural Theory Review, 15(2), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/13264826.2010.495453.
• Burry, J., Burry, M., Tamke, M., Thomsen, M. R., Ayres, P., Leon, A. P., Davis, D., Deleuran, A., Nielseon, S., Riiber, J. (2012). Process through practice: Synthesizing a novel design and production ecology through dermoid. In Proceedings of ACADIA 2012 (pp. 127-139). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2012.127
• Caetano, I., & Leitão, A. (2019). Architecture meets computation: An overview of the evolution of computational design approaches in architecture. Architectural Science Review, 63(2), 165–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/00038628.2019.1680524.
• Cantrell, B. E., Yates, N. (2009). Abstraction language: Digital/analog dialogues. In Proceedings of ACADIA 09: reForm (pp. 234-239). https://scholar.archive.org/work/2l5kg2xxofdnddk2okpgo3a2xe/access/wayback/http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/acadia09_234.content.pdf
• Cheng, N. Y. (2012). Shading with folded surfaces: Designing with material, visual and digital consideration. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 30 (pp. 603-610). http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaade2012_303.content.pdf
• Cudzik, J., Radziszewski, K. (2018). Artificial intelligence aided architectural design. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 36 (pp.77-84). https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2018.1.077CumInCAD (1998). Retrieved 01 June 2024, from http://papers.cumincad.org/
• Davis, D., Salim, F., Burry, J. (2011). Designing responsive architecture mediating analogue and digital modeling in studio. In Proceedings of International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2011 (pp. 154-166). https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2011.155
• Dimopoulos, G., Kontaxakis, D., Symeonidou, I., Tsinikas, N. (2020). From analog to digital: Double curved lightweight structures in architectural design education. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 38 (pp. 181-188). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaade2020_261.pdf
• Diniz, N. Liang, H.,Anderson, B., Laing, R. (2012). Mapping the experience of space dynamic urban analysis. In Proceedings of SIGRADI 2012 (pp. 550-553). https://itc.scix.net/pdfs/sigradi2012_149.content.pdf
• Donath, D., Loemker, T. M., Richter K. (2001). Boundary debates: Extensions from analog to digital spaces. In Proceedings of International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2001 (pp. 241-249).
• Dorta, T. V. (2004). Drafted visual reality: A new paradigm to design with computers. In Proceedings of International Conference on ComputerAided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2004 (pp. 1-15). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2004.829
• Dounas, T., Spaeth, B. (2016). Ubiquitous digital repositories in the design studio. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 34 (pp. 241-249). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2016.1.241
• Dreyfus, H., Kelly, S. D. (2011). All things shining: reading the Western classics to find meaning in a secular age. New York: Free Press.
• Dritsas, S., Becker, M. (2007). Research & design in shifting from analog to digital. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2007 (pp. 56-65).
• Dunn, N. (2002). Digital fabrication in architecture. Laurence King.
• Erarslan, A. (2018). Plano-convex bricks in Ancient Mesopotamia. In Proceedings of Kerpic’20 (pp. 113-119).
• Fong, J. C. H, Poon, A. L. W, Ngan W. S., Ho, C. H., Goepel, G., Crolla, K. (2020). Augmenting craft with mixed reality: a case study project of ar-driven analog clay modeling. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2020 (pp. 436-444).
• Forren, J., Nicholas, C. (2018). Lap, twist, knot: Intentionality In digitalanalogue making environments. Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2018 (pp 336-41).
• Gelirli Nitelik, D., Arpacıoğlu, Ü. (2020). Development of the usage possibilities of adobe with computational design. In Proceedings of Kerpic’20 (8). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347354887_Developme nt_of_the_Usage_Possibilities_of_Adobe_with_Computational_Design#fullTextFileContent
• Goldberg, G. (2020), Vintage photos remind of the profession before AutoCAD, Archinect News, August, https://archinect.com/news/article/150078470/vintage-photos-remind-ofthe-profession-before-autocad. Accessed 19 February 2023.
• Griffiths, J. (2011). Digital Haptic – Learning from K-Zel. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) Regional 2011: Parametricism: (SPC) (pp. 115-121).
• Hamzaoğlu, B., Özkar, M., & Aydın, S. (2022). Towards a digital practice of historical stone carvings. In Proceedings of Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 40 (pp. 227–234). https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2022.2.227
• Hitchings, K., Patel, Y., McPherson P. (2017). Analogue automation: The gateway pavilion for headland sculpture on the gulf. Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 35 (pp. 347-354). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2017.2.347
• Iliopoulos, A. (2019). Material engagement theory and its philosophical ties to pragmatism. Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 18 (2019), 39–63. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11097-018-9596-5.pdf
• Imbren, M. (2014). (Re)thinking the brick: Digital tectonic masonry sytems. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2014 (pp. 211–220). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2014.211
• Iwamoto, L. (2009). Digital fabrications: architectural and material techniques, Princeton Architectural Press. https://synth06iii.wordpress.com/wpcontent/uploads/2020/04/architectural-and-material-techniques-.pdf
• Jaminet, J., Esquivel, G., Bugni, S. (2021). Serlio and Artificial Intelligence: Problematizing the Image-to-Object Workflow. In: Yuan, P.F., Chai, H., Yan, C., Leach, N. (eds) Proceedings of the 2021 DigitalFUTURES. CDRF 2021. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5983-6_1
• Jabi, W. (2004). Digital tectonics: the intersection of the physical and the virtual. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) (pp.256-69). http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/acadia04_256.content.pdf
• Kawami, T. S. (1982). Parthian brick vaults in Mesopotamia: Their antecedents and descendants. Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society (JANES), 14, 61–67.
• Kenzari, B. (2010). Generative design and the reduction of presence (pp. 97-106).
• Knapp, C. (2013). The hand and the machine: A hybrid approach to complex construction in a work of sir Peter Cook. In Proceedings of International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2013 (pp. 633–642). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2013.633
• Koestler, A. (1968). The ghost in the machine. Macmillan.
• Kwinter, S. (2011). The computational fallacy. In A. Menges & S. Ahlquist (Eds.), Computational design thinking (pp. 158–167). John Wiley & Sons. Lanham, T., Shaifa, I., Poustinchi, E., Luhan, G. (2017). Craft and Digital Consequences: Micro-Hybrid Explorations at (Full) Scale. Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 35, pp. 327-336.
• Leach, N. (2018). We have never been digital. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2018 (pp. 20-29).
• Lengyel, D., Toulouse, C. (2007). Living Clay, pp. 01-13.
• Lévi-Strauss, C. (2021). Wild thought: A new translation of 'La Pensée sauvage'. University of Chicago Press.
• Lynn, G. (2005). Blobwall. Greg Lynn Form. Retrieved 22 January 2022, from https://glform.com/environments/blobwall/
• Lynn, G. (2017, June). Fast forward from animate form. Design Ark. Retrieved 22 January 2022 from. https://dezignark.com/blog/greg-lynn-fastforward-from-animate-form/
• Malafouris, L. (2013). How things shape the mind: A theory of material engagement. MIT Press.
• Martens B., Mark, E., Cheng, N. Y. (2006). Thresholds between Analog and Digital Representations. Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 24. (pp. 372-383).
• Martens, B. (2005). Dissemination of Knowledge in Architectural Endoscopy, EAEA pp. 199-206.
• Maturana, H. R., Varela, F. J. (1980). Autopoiesis and cognition: The realization of the living, Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel Pub. Co.
• McCullough, M. (1996). Abstracting craft: The practiced digital hand. MIT Press.
• Motalebi N., Duarte, J. P. (2017). A Shape Grammar of Emotional Postures: An approach towards encoding the analogue qualities of bodily expressions of emotions. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 35 (pp. 485-492). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.ecaade.2017.2.485
• Moya, R. Salim, F., Williams, M. (2014). Pneumosense project: A flexible kinetic windbreak. In Proceedings of International Conference on ComputerAided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2014 (pp. 369-378). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279534048_PNEUMOSENSE_PROJECT_A_flexible_kinetic_windbreak
• Neiman, B., Bermudez, J. (1998). Between digital and analogue civilizations: The spatial manipulation media workshop. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) (pp. 131-137). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/03d0.content.pdf
• Norell, D., Rodhe, E. (2014). Erratic: The material simulacra of pliable surfaces. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 32 (pp.145-152). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaade2014_096.content.pdf
• Norman, F. (2004). Digital to analog: Exploring digital processes of making. International Journal of Architectural Computing, 3(2), 191-202. https://doi.org/10.1260/1478077054214398
• Partheinos, P. (2008). Analog vs. digital: why bother? First International Conference on Critical Digital: What Matter(s)?( pp.177-127).
• Pask, G., Scott, B. C. (1972). Learning strategies and individual competence. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 4(3), 217–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7373(72)80004-X
• Pinochet, D. (2016). Making gestures: Continous design through real time human machine interaction. In Proceedings of International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2016 (pp. 281–290).
• Poustinchi, E., Wang S., Luhan G. (2018). No keyboard, no mouse- Hybrid digital-analog hardware design for enhancing design UI and UX. In Proceedings of International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2018 (pp. 535-544). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/caadria2018_232.pdf
• Quijada, R. M. (2008). Reality-informed-design (RID): A framework for design process. First International Conference on Critical Digital: What Matter(s)? (pp. 323-328).
• Rabie, O. (2008). Revealing the potential of compressed earth blocks a visual narration. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Römert, O., Zboniska, M. A. (2021). Aligning the analog, digital, and hyperreal, software errors as design exploration drivers. Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2021 (pp.493-501). https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2021.492
• Schubert, G., Artinger, E., Petzold, F., Klinker, G. (2011). Tangible tools for architectural design: Seamless integration into the architectural workflow. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 11 (pp. 252-259). http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/acadia11_252.content.pdf
• Sennett, R. (2008). The craftsman. Yale University Press.
• Serriano, P. (2003). Form follows software. In Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 22 (pp.185-205). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/acadia03_025.content.pdf
• Shew, A. (2017). Constructions and technological knowledge. Rowman & Littlefield International.
• Stavrić, M., Stokić, D., Ilić M. (2012). Architectural scale model in digital age –design process, representation and manufacturing. In Proceedings of the 40th Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 30 (pp. 33-42). http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/ecaade2012_151.content.pdf
• Suzuki, S., Knippers, J. (2018). Digital vernacular design: Form-finding at the edge of realities. Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2018 (pp.56-65). https://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/acadia18_56.pdf
• Tian, J., Yu, C. (2020). Dynamic translation of real-world environment factors and urban design operation in a game engine. In Proceedings of International Conference on Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) 2020. http://papers.cumincad.org/data/works/att/caadria2020_106.pdf
• The Architectural Review (2015). Church at Atlantida, Uruguay, by Eladio Dieste. https://www.architectural-review.com/archive/church-atatlantida-uruguay-by-eladio-dieste. Accessed 01 March 2023.
• Vercruysse, E. (2019). Autonomous architectural operations. Proceedings of The Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) 2019 (pp.478-489). http://dx.doi.org/10.52842/conf.acadia.2019.478
• Viscardi, A. (2002). Arms, wings, & mechanical things analogue…assimilation…appropriation. In Proceeding of Generative Art 2002 (pp. 12/1-12/10). http://www.generativeart.com/on/cic/papersga2002/12.pdf
• Voordouw, J. (2015). Hybrid etching: Intaglio etching of digital models. International Journal of Architectural Computing (3-4) 13, 237-256. https://doi.org/10.1260/1478-0771.13.3-4.237
• Wójcik, M., Strumiłło J.(2017). BackToBack: A bio-cybernetic approach to production of solid timber components. . In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) 32, pp. 159-168.
• Zandavali, B. A., Joshua, P. A., Patel C. (2020). Embodied learning through fabrication aware design. In Proceedings of the Conference on Education and Research in Computer Aided Architectural Design in Europe (eCAADe) (pp.145-154).