Craftsmanship in the Digital Age - #1 Architecture, Technology and Materiality
Friday, 3 February 2017

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

Part 1: Welcome and Introduction

Welcome and Introduction
Dr. h.c. Kristin Feireiss, Director, ANCB The Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin - 00:00:00 - 00:09:47
Áine Ryan, Project Curator, ANCB The Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin - 00:09:50 - 00:16:49
Dr. Guido Biessen, Head of Economic Department, The Netherlands Embassy in Berlin - 00:17:00 - 00:24:51
Helga Kühnhenrich, Head of Division, Research in Building and Construction, Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), Bonn - 00:25:23 - 00:27:50
Jörg Petri, Co-founder, NOWlab@BigRep, Berlin - 00:29:17 - 00:29:58

Part 2 - Mario Carpo (Audio only)

Perspectives from Research and Practice
Prof. Mario Carpo, Reyner Banham Professor of Architectural History and Theory, the Bartlett, University College, London: Digital Craft

Part 3 - Ben van Berkel

Introduction
Jörg Petri, Co-founder, NOWlab@BigRep, Berlin - 00:00:00 - 00:03:39

Perspectives from Research and Practice
Prof. Ben van Berkel, Founder and Principal Architect, UNStudio, Amsterdam: Crafted Knowledge - 00:03:49 - 00:40:17

Part 4: Arnd Rose und Hilco Vos

Introduction
Jörg Petri, Co-founder, NOWlab@BigRep, Berlin - 00:00:00 - 00:03:39

Perspectives from Research, Manufacturing and the Building Industry
Arnd Rose, Research in Building and Construction, Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR), Bonn: Forschungsinitiative Zukunft Bau - 00:00:40 - 00:12:32
Hilco Vos, International Business Developer Architectural Ceramics, Koninklijke Tichelaar Makkum: Materiality, and the Uniqueness of Aesthetics in Ceramics - 00:13:10 - 00:29:34

Part 5: Discussion

Panel Discussion
moderated by Daniel Büning and Jörg Petri, Co-founders, NOWlab@BigRep, Berlin

The discussion continued with a closed Internal Workshop on Saturday, 4 February 2017 at the studio of NOWlab@BigRep where the above speakers were joined by the following peers: Carin M. Schirmacher, PhD candidate Architecture Culture (History and Theory of Architecture), State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart; Tom Maasen, Cultural Attaché, Netherlands Embassy in Berlin; Norbert Palz, Professor Digital and Experimental Design / Vice Dean Design Faculty, Universität der Künste Berlin; Léon Spikker, Founding Partner, Studio RAP, Robotics Architecture Production, Rotterdam; Nathalie Swords, Product Developer at Arup, Berlin; Tobias Walliser, Co-founder, LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture), Berlin / Professor of Innovative Construction and Spatial Concepts and Vice-President at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart. Moderated by Daniel Büning and Jörg Petri, Co-founders, NOWlab@BigRep, Berlin, and Áine Ryan, Project Curator, ANCB The Aedes Metropolitan Laboratory, Berlin

BACKGROUND
This opening discussion traced the relationship between design and making in architecture up to and beyond the introduction of digital tools, to the present day when the scope of materials can be considered in combination with the potential of digital technology. Contributions from manufacturers of ceramic and concrete building components served to demonstrate the qualities of materiality in architecture, and trigger discussion on the potentials of limitations of digital fabrication in this regard.

The intention of the series Craftsmanship in the Digital Age, and the 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.