Mashrabiya in Architecture
Much of the work done in the field of parametric design, as its etymology suggests, is in search of valid parameters that lend meaning and evaluation to the infinite variations that can be produced.
Often these parameters are found in the metric evaluation of different features in design and construction (Kolarevic and Klinger 2008). As Moussavi (2008) observed, this is similar to architectural design: “Architecture needs mechanisms that allow it to become connected to culture… Architecture progresses through new concepts that connect with these forces (visible or invisible), manifesting itself in new aesthetic compositions and affects.”
The traditions of the Mashrabiya unite a variety of functional, cultural and material conditions into an architectural manifestation of the boundaries between these dimensions. However, at the core of the design is an understanding that the human body acts as a reference point for the development of the product. The architecture protects the privacy of the Harim and enables the individual behind the screen to comfortably view exterior spaces.
As suggested by Beesley and Seebohm (2000), the digital tectonic designates an interest in the chemistry between the culture, the form, and manufacturing. As we look at the end of the Arts and Crafts movement in 1910 and leap towards the third industrial revolution, the cultural study informs a geometric ordinance system whereby highly tuned constructions are informed by cultural parameters and assembled in digital spaces.
Reflectively, the religious requirement for Muslim women to be veiled can be well satisfied through the use of a hybrid and parametric Mashrabiya as suggested in this research (see Figure 5). Looking directly into the manufacturing of these new constructs, 3D printing enables a new digital craftsman to emerge to fill the gap resulting from the loss of the traditional artisan.
These new digital craftsman are versed not only in the negotiation of digital space, but also in the negotiation of cultural, social, and performative functionality that must result from the manufacturing process.
