Off-campus UMass Amherst users: To download campus access theses, please use the following link to log into our proxy server with your UMass Amherst user name and password.
Non-UMass Amherst users: Please talk to your librarian about requesting this thesis through interlibrary loan.
Theses that have an embargo placed on them will not be available to anyone until the embargo expires.
Access Type
Open Access
Document Type
thesis
Degree Program
Architecture
Degree Type
Master of Architecture (M.Arch.)
Year Degree Awarded
2012
Month Degree Awarded
May
Keywords
digital fabrication, architecture
Abstract
During the Renaissance era, the builder was the master of both design and fabrication. The Industrial Revolution split these two activities in the pursuit of higher efficiency. Now, the ascendance of digital fabrication could bring the two back together. This study explores the current and future use of digital fabrication in architecture. Digital fabrication is increasingly used to manufacture components for other industries, but it is experiencing slower adoption in the building industry due to size and material limitations and a contract process that makes fabricators less willing to take risks on newer digital technology. A design project was undertaken to establish a digital design-to-fabrication workflow that could work on actual building components for a large-scale built environment. The resulting workflow did offer the advantages of design freedom and the elimination of shop drawings, but the absence of large-scale 3D printing still makes it difficult to quickly fabricate and assemble mass-customized, non-uniform 3D designs.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/2818824
First Advisor
Kathleen R. Lugosch
Second Advisor
Skender Luarasi