Concrete - Digitally Remastered
directed by: Karl Daubmann
assisted by: Sam Zeller
Fall 2003

This project is really about finding a way to scale up CAM (computer aided manufacturing) techniques as well as challenge the tectonic biases of the equipment. The CNC machine cuts parts that can be no larger than 4’x8’ which is fine for furniture but very limited for building construction. To challenge the tectonic biases means to find a way to get past the making of small parts that add up to a system. This project will build larger objects through the development of a digitally remastered concrete formwork. The project is investigating the construction of complex formwork from flat materials. The current, generally accepted, process to use the 3D capability of the CNC router begins with taking a series of flat sheets (usually plywood) and laminating them together (illustrated with the first examples). The router bit is used to subtract the surface from the larger block of material. This process is time consuming and wasteful as evidenced by a bin full of sawdust. The making of clothing offers an alternate process in that volumes are made from flat material and stitched together. Complex site-cast concrete has always been too expensive because of custom formwork but as building construction begins to evolve because of the economical advancements and soon-to-be ubiquity of CNC technology, custom components will become relatively economical. In the design of concrete structures there has always been a strong relationship between material costs, labor costs, means and location of production, and intelligence in design. These relationships will need to come under intense scrutiny as the rules change under the paradigm of digital production.