On Research [
On Digital Dissemination] [
On Digital Making] [
On Digital Pedagogy]
Synthetic Research
Synthetic research insinuates a relationship of a meticulous process of discovering truth contradicted against a fabricated, as in concocted, reality. It is important to realize the logical aspect of synthetic when examining what synthetic research can provide for architectural discourse. Synthesis contrasts with analysis in that its primary method involves recourse to experience; it is experience that is at the heart of synthetic research. The synthesis of theory, architectural constructions, and digital techniques requires experiencing the results of experimentation. Synthetic digital architecture necessitates a discovery process incorporating creation that allows for experience, be it virtual reality, full-scale proto-typing or spatial creations; provided experience is a truthful one, and not disingenuous, slipping into the alternate definition of synthetic.
Research's experimental arm, as opposed to the analytic, relies on tinkering - implying the unfinished, incomplete, the prototype. Examples of this are everywhere. Computer screen shots are a quite literal example of synthetic research when used as a means of experiencing a process. Performance mock-ups of building assemblies are a method of synthetic research in that one experiences a set of defined performances in order to discover and redefine the project. The watchmaker craft is an exercise in research/experimentation where material properties are inherent in function and aesthetics; consider how the components interact with the environment - motion, gravity, space-time, temperature. Efficiency at this point is predominantly structural and physical. Decorative or aesthetic elements are applied or integrated in later iterations along with optimization of performance, marketing, and costs.
What is an architectural research? How can research synthesize the wide range of possibilities for the trajectory of architecture when engaged in digital and computational techniques? The goals, techniques, documentation, and other methods of research production have a place in architecture that must be explored, particularly as it related to computation. As in other fields, we must build a legitimate body of research whereby other can use and expand upon such that digital architectures evolve in innovative as well as prosperous paths.
Digital Research Session One:
Technical Research
Interoperabilitty Between CAD and Energy Performance Simulation through Virtual Model System Framework
Shape Control In Responsive Architectural Structures / Current Reasons & Challenges
Revitalization of Existing Buildings through Sustainable Non-Destructive Floor Space Relocation
Digital Research Session Two:
Theoretical Research
Aesthetic Interaction: A Model for Re-thinking the Design of Place
Flatness through Camera: The Implications of Camera Movement in the Digital Reconstruction of Diamond Museum
Making Space Content Specific:Interactive Architectures for Information Presentation
