Digital to Physical: Repetition + Difference: Component-to-System Relationships

This course focuses on the design of modules or components that can be assembled/clustered/aggregated to form a larger spatial component system to enhance an existing space. Rather than aggregating identical components (such as bricks which are identical in size and shape), we will be designing our own components that can vary in size and shape to form differentiated component systems. The exercises in this course will introduce and develop parametric thinking skills (without the use of advanced parametric design software) and will require the student to fabricate working prototypes of her/his component system out of simple materials or commonly found items.

• Immersive Spatial Component System
• In this session students will make a portion of their parametric component system and install it in a domestic space. Students will photograph this installation with human figures to show how it is occupied or used, as well as at different times of the day and under different lighting conditions.
• Parametric Thinking
• This session introduces parametric thinking as a framework to understand a design problem. This framework will be applied in the following sessions to analyze and resolve geometry, material, and spatial design options.
• Component Phylogram
• In this session we will create a parametric component and investigate its geometric properties. From this component, we can create variant parts that work together by changing geometric parameters.
• Materializing Components
• This session deals with materials and making. We will prototype several examples of our parametric component and work out detailing and connections.