I want to write down in Bahasa, but it is quite difficult for me to explain without sounds too formal or too casual. When I tried to reread my writings, it seems so banal and kitsch hahahah. So i decided just to write in English, since from now on I will start to regularly write a post and read more books, rather than spending my time on social media (well at least i tried)*wink to someone who inspired me a lot (he is not talking too much but he did a lot of good design and stuff without trying to brag about it).
Today is the final review of the design studio at the place where I help to teach. The topic is quite interesting and somehow I think I learn a lot from it. It is about mass customization. Something so familiar in which I think I have already understood but actually i am not. What is mass customization? It is actually something you can adjust but at the same time can produce many prototypes easier without any major circumstances. Since our studio core is about tectonics and tactical things, so the task is divided into 3 different materials: concrete, wood, and 3d printing. It is actually tools in which we can recognize the evolution of the production process in different materials. The goal is actually to make a consciousness, which tools and materials can be used in different case of design as they are prepared to be an architect/designer.
I am personally enjoying relearn about the material itself. The first step was to create critical thinking about what capacity these materials can handle? What makes, for example, the 3d print is special than the others and vice versa? They are asked to make an iteration of 50 modules, then choosing one of the modules to be developed as a kind of composition/structure consist of the modules.
Wood
They are exploring more into cognitive things. The material pulls them to use the hand tools more, they are playing with many methods from cutting, curving, subtracting, making joint, all created by hands and I am so happy to see the process, something more into intuitive process to find the module because the interaction itself also part of trial and error.
Concrete
Concrete is personally my favorite process of making, I rarely make an experiment about molding and how it can be tools to produce something interesting (in a project, i usually only play with casting for the column). Here they are also experimenting about texture (they made a molding of something organic like a wood twig) in which I found it as a based idea is interesting. But in the end, the modules they choose is the geometric ones with a consideration of the concrete mass, texture, and play of shadow.
3d print
This one is actually my weakness since I personally think of you don’t have a control for it, it is always seen as a beautification. But the reflection of this course actually makes me realize that it has something to do with the 2 previous material before, that 3d print actually fills the gap and the needs of our current situation.
When the process begins, I am actually not considering that it is also related to the history of mankind itself. That mass customization is evolving from something more like handtool to sophisticated things like 3d print.
Wood actually represent of our handmade methods for production, we have full control of it because it is so tactile, we made it with conscious and can be customized as we want. Then it develops to a demand for having more modules, then there was a technology called molding. Once you have the mold, you can replicate it with the same mold in a little time with a lot of modules. So basically this technology can be used in a certain situation. The weakness is molding cannot change in a sudden time, it is considered difficult to be customized once the mold is ready. The range of flexibility in customization is low. How about 3d print? The 3d print is actually a win-win solution and a combination of wood and concrete/molding. They can be customized while at the same time produce the amount of product.
The big question is can you keep the consciousness while choosing which tools are suitable for a certain condition of design needs?
kawruh. 