While architects once straddled a chasm between creative thinking and technical knowhow, that gap has closed in recent years. Technical tools continue to blow away the restrictions that have hindered architecture in the past.
This was one takeaway at a presentation given during Design in the Age of Experience 2017.
John Cerone, director of Virtual Design and Construction, for SHoP Architects, explained that architects are increasingly looking to step outside of their traditional roles.
“The AEC industry is restricted by a lot of traditional methods. We’ve realized that to create the design you want, you have to step out and speak with the people manufacturing the pieces and parts,” Cerone commented.
Additive Manufacturing Creates New Opportunities
One of the technologies delivering new freedom to design professionals is additive manufacturing.
David Wong, head of Additive Manufacturing Innovation Center, Nanyang Polytechnic University in Singapore, shared the stage with Cerone to explain how the growth of this new manufacturing process isn’t just transforming the possibilities available through architecture—it’s also pushing the design process further as design and manufacturing professionals together explore the need for new processes.