Craftsmanship in the Digital Age
#3 Resetting Values for Architecture and the Building Industry
Friday, 15 September 2017

The third discussion in the ANCB series Craftsmanship in the Digital Age: Architecture, Values and Digital Fabrication

Part 1: Introduction

Welcome and Introduction
Monique Ruhe Counsellor and Head of Department for Culture and Communication, The Netherlands Embassy in Berlin  - 00:00:00 - 00:05:34
Hans-Jürgen Commerell Founding Director, ANCB The Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin - 00:05:41 - 00:11:21
Monika Thomas Architect and Director of Building, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature, Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), Berlin - 00:11:32 - 00:18:17

Part 2: Keynotes 1 & 2

Perspectives from Research, Practice and the Building Industry
Francine Houben Founding Partner and Creative Director, Mecanoo Architects, Delft - 00:01:12 - 00:20:13
Martin Tamke InnoChain ETN Network / Centre for Information Technology and Architecture (CITA), Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen - 00:22:09 - 00:44:19

Part 3: Keynotes 3 & 4

Perspectives from Research, Practice and the Building Industry
Frank Heinlein Werner Sobek Group, Stuttgart - 00:00:44 - 00:23:14
Sebastian von Oppen Berlin Chamber of Architects - 00:24:08 - 00:33:16

Part 4: Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion
moderated by Áine Ryan ANCB and Daniel Büning NOWlab@BigRep, involving from the German Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), Bonn, Helga Kühnhenrich Head of Division for Research in Building and Construction, and Arnd Rose Researcher.

BACKGROUND
This third discussion touched upon the broad spectrum of societal issues relevant to architecture practice; identifying the factors that give certain issues, such as cost efficiency and energy performance, influence over the architecture profession and the building industry. Due to the close collaboration between manufacturer and architect that digital fabrication demands, a timely moment is presented to reintroduce critical craftsmanship values for building practice. Through discussion, the participants articulated what digital fabrication realistically offers in this regard.

The intention of this collaboration with The Netherlands Embassy in Berlin, NOWlab@BigRep and the BBSR, is to explore and co-articulate with manufacturers, proponents of newer digital production tools, architects, and building industry representatives, a craftsmanship approach to incorporating digital fabrication into architecture. Rather than seeing digital tools as incongruous with craftsmanship, Craftsmanship in the Digital Age proposes that they could in fact strengthen certain skills and principles characteristic of craftsmanship with benefits for architecture and manufacturing; including more effective building materials and spatial typologies, a closer working relationship between architects and manufacturers, and an assertion of critical values for the building industry at this point in history, especially regarding energy and resource sustainability. For more on this series background, see here.