Architype Prototype 2019

Semester 1, 2018

Prototyping can be a valuable part of the design process due to its capacity to generate data. The architect’s ability to define, measure and interpret this data can stimulate smart solutions that digital design processes alone cannot. Digital fabrication equipment has given the architect a way to prototype quickly due to the miniaturisation of machines that were previously used in heavy industry. Much of this equipment is ran through computer generated code that has previously been locked away and managed by the fabricator. Increased digital literacy in the design community has enabled architects to directly engage with CNC and robotic fabrication machines. Instead of being used purely as a method for production, digital fabrication equipment can hold a larger stake in the design process with unique attributes that can be harnessed to innovatively save material, create novel geometry and design unique effects.

Studio Outcomes

Archetype Prototype seeks to apply this methodology towards the activation of interior and exterior spaces of the Glynn Davis Building within the University of Melbourne. Students will be introduced to parametric design and fabrication tools early in the semester with learning outcomes directed towards material and process exploration. This will run in parallel with the development of an overall design proposal with explorations being used to inform site and function of intervention. Small groups of students will each develop a scheme with groups to eventually merge into a single team to develop and realise the strongest design proposal. Outcomes of this studio will be aimed towards the creation of a full scale design intervention. This will be complemented with traditional architectural representations and project journals (online and offline) to contribute to the culture of making on site.

Studio Leader

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.