Digital Fabrications:
Architectural and Material Techniques
Lisa Iwamoto

Architectural pioneers such as Frank Gehry and Greg Lynn introduced the world to the extreme forms made possible by digital fabrication. It is now possible to transfer designs made on a computer to computer-controlled machinery that creates actual building components. This "file to factory" process not only enables architects to realize projects featuring complex or double-curved geometries, but also liberates architects from a dependence on off-the-shelf building components, enabling projects of previously unimaginable complexity.

Digital Fabrications, the second volume in our new Architecture Briefs series, celebrates the design ingenuity made possible by digital fabrication techniques. Author Lisa Iwamoto explores the methods architects use to calibrate digital designs with physical forms. The book is organized according to five types of digital fabrication techniques: tessellating, sectioning, folding, contouring, and forming. Projects are shown both in their finished forms and in working drawings, templates, and prototypes, allowing the reader to watch the process of each fantastic construction unfold. Digital Fabrications presents projects designed and built by emerging practices that pioneer techniques and experiment with fabrication processes on a small scale with a do-it-yourself attitude. Featured architects include AEDS/Ammar Eloueini, Atelier Manferdini, Brennan Buck, MOS, Office dA, Florencia Pita/MOD, Mafoomby, URBAN A+O, SYSTEMarchitects, Andrew Kudless/Matsys, IwamotoScott, Atelier Hitoshi Abe, Chris Bosse, Tom Wiscombe/EMERGENT, Thom Faulders Architecture, Jeremy Ficca, SPAN, GNUFORM, Heather Roberge, PATTERNS, Ruy Klein, and servo.


Lisa Iwamoto, winner of numerous design awards, is associate professor of architecture at UC Berkeley and a principal of IwamotoScott Architecture. She is a leader in the field of digital fabrications, and her work has been published in numerous national and international journals such as Architectural Record, I.D. Magazine, Domus, Metropolis, Dwell, Seed, C3, and Archiworld Magazines.
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Editorial Reviews

Newsletter, Dexigner:
"Digital Fabrications presents projects designed and built by emerging practices that pioneer techniques and experiment with fabrication processes on a small scale with a do-it-yourself attitude." (November 28, 2009)

Arch Daily:
"During 2009 I had the chance to visit Iwamoto Scott in San Francisco, a practice lead by Lisa Iwamoto and Craig Scott. At their office I could see first hand the study models for some of the projects the firm has been involved, such as a mockup for their P.S.1 proposal, Coral Reef, or the lightweight wooden pieces that structure the massive Voussoir Cloud installation at SCI Arc. These small pieces had a lot to tell, not only about the specific project they were part of, but also their iterations. The firm has a recognized expertise in digital fabrication, presented by Lisa Iwamoto at the AIA Convention 2009 during the Emerging Voices forum, and also on her book Digital Fabrication edited by Princeton Architectural Press under their Architecture Brief series. The book presents in a clear way (with very good examples) the methods behind digital fabrication: sectioning, tessellating, folding, contouring, and forming. For most of us these words are pretty much obvious and we often use them as design principles of our projects. But to get the full scope of what they really mean, or for those that want to start understanding -and using- them, this is a recommended reading." — David Basulto (January 5, 2010)

Blue Architecture:
"Because Digital Fabrications concentrated on the experimentation of these fabrication techniques and the processes of creating forms using these techniques, I didnt feel that the book was just another architectural image catalog of abstract forms with descriptions encoded in archi-babble. The book was written in a concise manner that was sufficiently descriptive and intelligently thought provoking. To read the full review on bluearchitecture.wordpress.com click HERE. " (September 24, 2009)

World Changing:
"If I had to recommend you one book about the use of digital tools in architecture, it would be this one. Written by an expert who is also a successful practitioner (Lisa Iwamoto, a leader in the field of digital fabrications, is associate professor of architecture at UC Berkeley and a principal of IwamotoScott Architecture), Digital Fabrications is pleasantly approachable. First, there's the visual appeal of the publication. It is a light, compact book shock full of fabulous pictures and concise yet precise descriptions of the many projects covered. The most engaging characteristic of the volume however is its content. The author has chosen to highlight the innovative and DIY attitude that reigns among designers and architects who use digital technologies. Many of the projects are detailed and made comprehensible with graphics and pictures making it a great inspiration for other architects as well as for students. In fact, students projects are also featured in the book. To read the full review on worldchanging.com click HERE. " — Regine Debatty (September 25, 2009)

Fabricating the Digital Contemporary Moment: A Book Review, Javierest:
"Going through the projects in Lisa Iwamotos newly published survey, Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009. 144 pages) gives me the impression that much of the contemporary outlook in architecture, especially in its schools, has a lot to do with the rediscovery of Gottfried Semper. Here you have a frenzied revelry in the assembly of various independent components into elaborate skins, an exploration of the textile and foldable properties of materials, and a recovery of surface as something wanting a glorious independence from mundane structures. To read the full review on javier.est.pr click HERE. " (September 2, 2009)

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