Studio 18

Exlab: Articulated.MATTER

Darcy Zelenko and Danny Ngo | Technology + Process Focus

This studio is available to students enrolled in ABPL90143 Studio D and ABPL90115 Studio E only.

Studio Description

Data, computation and fabrication methods reach a level of complexity that provokes cross-disciplinary integration and develop bespoke solutions, querying traditional ‘design’. Exlab: Articulated Matter (A.M) takes the design process pioneered by the furniture subject of the same namesake and applies it within the architectural design studio context. Prototyping at this scale can be a valuable part of the design process due to its capacity to generate data. Computation and digital fabrication help create a methodology of design that has redefined the role of the architect. The architect’s ability to define, measure and interpret this data can stimulate smart solutions that digital design processes alone cannot.

Exlab: A.M explores material through architectural quality, encouraging the dissection of matter through an experimental process of prototyping and research. Traditional making methods, fabrication techniques and digital technology will be leveraged to challenge and transform stagnant material methods commonly used in construction. Instead of being used purely as a method for production, the architect can hold a larger stake in the design process that can be harnessed to innovatively save material, create novel geometry and design unique effects. Students will use this experimental design process to develop a response to the statement, “What is a smart articulation of matter within architecture” across the entire semester.

Studio Outcome

Exlab: A.M will use these material innovations to inform the design and production of a larger scale design project centering around the notion of ‘shelter’. This will begin as small-scale design esquisses which will form the basis of larger prototypes and a final design. This work will be undertaken entirely in the form of group work. Groups will start small and increase in size during the course of the semester. Rapid prototyping and iterative designs will be complemented through architectural representations (plans, sections, details and diagrams) and individual project journals (online and offline). Videography will also be used to create a series of documentaries describing work undertaken as part of the studio.

Studio Leaders

Darcy Zelenko is a Graduate of Architecture from the Melbourne School of Design. He is the Lead Technician of Digital Fabrication at Fablab and works as designer across the architectural and furniture design scales. Darcy's main areas of expertise are CNC fabrication and parametric design which he also teaches within the MSD.

Danny Ngo is a recent graduate of architecture from UoM, designer & maker and a CNC operator at the FabLab. His exploration lies within social design, digital fabrication and explorative furniture, querying material research and investigative prototyping through digital media. Danny’s interests seek to re-define normative design processes in ‘architecture’, provoking ‘novel’ function and rational form through fabrication.

Readings & References

• Bleecker, Julian. - Design Fiction: A Short Essay on Design, Science, Facts and Fiction
• Burry, Mark & Burry, Jane - Prototyping for Architects

Schedule Mondays and Thursdays 17:15-20:15 in MSD NExT Lab

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