The Siren's Call

Abstract

This paper presents an account of our research and development of processes providing seamless transition from design to fabrication. The narrative of our design, development, and prototyping experi¬ments spans seven years, including our current project, the Trusset software/structural system. Trusset is a combined building system and agent-based software design tool. The building system is based on a differential space-truss designed for fabrication entirely with computer numerically controlled (CNC) linear cutting devices, such as laser cut¬ters or three-axis mills. The software component is a set of agent-based design tools for developing surfaces and envelopes formally suitable to be built using the space-truss structure. Developed in parallel, the soft¬ware and building components combine within the Trusset system to provide a seamless pipeline from design to fabrication and assembly. The story of the development of software components and structural system, leading to the Trusset, act as a means of discussing the larger issues framing the research: the potential pitfalls and benefits of design and fabrication integration via the computer.