Smart assembly in digital fabrication: designing workflow

Digital fabrication project in academia has produced many grounds for experimentation. In recent years, techniques have also been tested extensively in practice within commercial project setting. This gives rise to an emerging breed of architectural practices whose work is increasingly centred on resolution of complex geometry to realizable projects. The resolution of parametrically driven design to production projects requires a different workflow, as often the compressed timeframe and budget requires the parametric model to cope with multiple streams of construction output as well as utilize the model in concurrent design processes. This paper examines a commercial project as case study to explore the abstraction, reduction and dissemination of information within a digital fabrication workflow. In this project, digital fabrication is deployed to reduce risk; mainly in manufacturing and its lead time. The research reveals how metadesign process at an early stage of the project can contribute to increase efficiency of the parametric model as well as delivering multiple streams of information for all the collaborators: architects, fabricators and builders. The team designed the assembly procedure into the parametric workflow to facilitate off-site and on-site assembly. This is possible through imbedding ‘smart’ detailing and structuring information with the workflow. The paper concludes by reflecting on the workflow and asks if a metadesign driven fabrication workflow can create a more holistic approach to digital fabrication. The outcome of the case study is just one instance of the parametric machine that is developed from an understanding of assembly process. This paper responds to the theme of continuous designing, through looking at digital fabrication as co-emergence of design procedure and practice.