Additional information, email: nbruscia@buffalo.edu
This studio will explore the potential of mixed reality (MR) guided handwork fabrication and assembly. Student work will attempt to bridge manual techniques with a custom MR workflow. The use of MR is rapidly gaining momentum in architectural design research and in construction, on and off site. MR is an extension of digital and computational modeling proficiency and presents a new educational paradigm that is still in its exploratory phases. Students will gain transferrable skills in algorithmic modeling, physics-based form finding, interactive MR modeling and handwork fabrication, and will contribute to the current discourse in architectural mixed reality by supporting their work with relevant research and case studies.
The studio frames ‘situated technologies’ into a set of communicative acts by acknowledging that technology consists not only of machines, devices, and software, but more importantly the relationships between tools, people, and fields of knowledge. The goal is not to replace or improve handwork, but to facilitate a reverent workflow between design and production, and representation and realization. The influence of the technical arts on traditional forms of architecture has carried through to present day, reinvented by the accessibility of advanced digital tools and manufacturing equipment. Architectural innovations are often made possible when technical expertise matures into creative problem solving, and it is essential that architectural research transcend the traditional borders of our discipline to creatively address an increasingly unpredictable environment.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes