I have now done the transcript from the FIB seminar, and identified a few specific points that I think are especially interesting and/or problematic. Parts of the seminar remained on a general level, in which the discussion dwelled on the idea of the parametric, which was read as central. Perhaps I should have pushed the concept of fabrication more (as the title of the seminar was Digital Fabrication), or the notion of the prototype. Still, I think the discussion became quite valuable to me, especially in regards to what an audience reads from a short introduction and a quick read of the licentiate thesis, but a number of critical points were also made.
- Parameters were discussed at length; how to define them, how to value them, in relation to a client, to other conditions, to optimization, wither they are objective or subjective (I claim subjective). Albert Danielsson brought up the model that is needed in order to use them, which was good; the relation between the parameters is actually more crucial than the parameters themselves.
- Style, as brought up by my reference to Parametric Architecture, was also discussed, and was seen as very bad. Still, the importance of discussing form, and my emphasis on the relation between specifically designed forms and performances, and the system behind it, was accepted as very relevant. Actually, I searched both books in pdf for the exact phrase of “Parametric Architecture”, but I cannot find it. Örjan, where did you find it?
- I think the ideas around networks as alternate production agents were interesting and are something I want to continue to look into. Hans Lind also commented on wither we need the big actors or should hope for their demise, to be replaced with many smaller agents. It would be interesting to know more about potential business models that would allow such networks to emerge, and I have few leads.
- Jadwiga Krupinska commented on the way that the processes of the Krets projects presented needed intense conceptual work and a rigorous method, but missed a known starting point in order to make the process more interesting and relevant to practice. I believe my short presentation of the SplineGraft project (with Vitra as a “client”), gave indications that the processes also include a fair amount of product development to a narrowed-down goal.
- Peter Ullmark´s comment on the control of complexity actually fits my ideas around prototypes as control systems, although his definition was slightly simplified I think. More interesting was his comment on alternate networks of known actors, in which collaborators know “the parameters” of co-workers, and good quality can be achieved. I see the prototype as a communicative device, that also can include aspects of intentionality, in the sense that it is a system designed to perform in different degrees, in opposition to a objective simulation etc.
- Sara Grahn brought up pragmatic aspects of the prototype, and compared it to the working model. SHe also questioned how it would be constructed for a larger scale project. I believe these issues must be explored in the near future.
- The notion of the client, and a wider context was also discussed. I do think I need to dwell on this, but I think that the cases I will be looking at will involve this. Ulrika mentioned the kind of clients that have been important for Servo and other practices, but my aim is really to move beyond this. The way institutions etc have commissioned work is much more related to the art scene (and they are very relevant to the continued development of experimental practice), but I think it is crucial to bring in innovation in contexts that are more related to architecture and building. When looking at methods of research and design, I do think that my work as Research director at ssark and tutor at the AA are important parts of this.
In the end, Albert Danielsson suggested that I should go on with a partially isolated case (such as ParaTable), and also appreciated my strong link between the design of formal identity and process, which I agree with.
The complete transripts are available in this pdf-document:
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