Technology-mediated process: case study--MIT Stata Center (2004)
article⁄Technology-mediated process: case study--MIT Stata Center (2004)
abstract⁄Gehry Partners’ GP sculptural approach to tectonic form, with its dramatic curves, complex geometry, and idiosyncratic application of materials, seems to have redefined the limits of architecture. The development of a strong formal vocabulary has been achieved by advanced use of information technologies, including CATIA, which allows translation among various tectonic representations, both in physical and digital forms. In addition, the nature of the office has much to do with other changes in the project delivery system, such as the relationships with associate architect, manufacturers, and subcontractors. This paper discusses how new technology changes the design and fabrication process, which has evolved from GP’s milestone project, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and how organizational efforts to involve the industry in the design process facilitate the project. Unlike at Bilbao, in the newlycompleted Stata Center GP produced all the construction documents. This shift coincided with a gradual change in which GP was becoming involved in the technical aspects of their projects much earlier in the design process. Therefore they had to invest in new working relationships with the construction team, including fabricators, manufacturers, and contractors. The approach of Gehry and his team suggests that architectural practice can be liberated from its conventional arrangements. Although it is still evolving, Gehry has achieved a holistically integrated organizational system where the architect has far more direct interaction with all aspects of design and fabrication.
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| Year |
2004 |
| Authors |
Matsushima, Shiro. |
| Issue |
Fabrication: Examining the Digital Practice of Architecture |
| Pages |
202-219 |
| Library link |
Philip Beesley, Nancy Yen-Wen Cheng & R. Shane Williamson, 2004. bib⁄Fabrication: Examining the Digital Practice of Architecture. University of Waterloo School of Architecture Press. |
| Entry filename |
technology-mediated-process |
