The Digital Craftsman and the Traditional Artisan

As noted by Amit Zoran (2011, 324) in his Hybrid Basketry work, “contemporary 3D printing and traditional craft rarely meet in the same creation.” Zoran observed that the artifacts generated by 3D printing are intrinsically reproducible and this is in stark contrast with traditional craft.

Conversely, however, parametric tools are dominating the landscape and additive manufacturing enables the physical manufacture of completely unique operations just as easily as it allows for repetition. Just as the artisans of past epochs worked to understand both the tools and materials required to accomplish their craft, digital craftsmen are becoming aware of the functional limitations of varieties of technologies, embedding that knowledge, just as the craftsmen did, into the new digital constructions that constitute their craft.

The study of the historic Mashrabiya exposes a direct link with mathematical and geometric representations that can be directly engaged with in the programming of algorithmic designs. Digital craftsmen can take the opportunity to inform these traditional motifs with functional design parameters that can be adjusted through graphic algorithmic modelers (Grasshopper 3D).

Zones in the design are designated in the initial diagram (Figure 5), where daylighting, privacy and ventilation are articulated against the variable dimensions of the opening. Just as with Mashrabiya of the past, the occupant becomes the point of reference for the zoning, using the height of their eye level to set maximum privacy considerations. From this point, the geometric pattern is given a viscosity that is again driven by the algorithmic design process. The members gain thickness and dimensions, and are also blended together through the analysis in proximity to the maximum privacy datum; this geometric dimension is developed through the use of T-Splines (Figure 6).