Today, we can fabricate anything. Complexity and customisation are no longer constraints. Yet there is a discrepancy between the wonder of digital fabrication technology, and the conventionalism of our designs. Put simply: we can fabricate more than we can design.
We need a new type of design instrument. We need tools for search and exploration, rather than simply control and execution. These tools will no longer require words, labels or categories, as they must create the previously unseen. Knowledge and experience will be acquired through search and mining. As of yet, we have countless tools to increase our efficiency and precision. Now is the time to create tools to inspire us and to help us be creative: the machine as our muse!
Michael Hansmeyer is an architect and programmer who explores the use of computational design and digital fabrication to create architectural form. Recent projects include the Sixth Order installation of columns at the Gwangju Design Biennale, and the design and fabrication of a 3D printed grotto for an Archilab exhibition. He is currently a visiting professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.