From Manual to Hybrid, Parametric Mashrabiya

ING AND INDEXING For a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed, please visit www.designprinciplesandpractices. com/journals/collection KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP Authors in The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design are members of the Design Principles and Practices Journal Collection or a thematically related Knowledge Community. Members receive access to journal content. For more, visit www.designprinciplesandpractices. com/about/become-a-member. SUBSCRIPTIONS The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design is available in electronic and print formats. Subscribe to gain access to content from the current year and the entire backlist. Contact us at cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com. ORDERING Single articles and issues are available from the journal bookstore at www.ijg. cgpublisher.com HYBRID OPEN ACCESS The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design is Hybrid Open Access, meaning authors can choose to make their articles open access. This allows their work to reach an even wider audience, broadening the dissemination of their research. To find out more, please visit www.designprinciplesandpractices. com/journals/hybrid-open-access. DISCLAIMER The authors, editors, and publisher will not accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made in this publication. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design Volume 10, Issue 2, 2016, www.designprinciplesandpractices. com, ISSN: 2325-1662 © Common Ground, Nehal Almerbati, Dustin Headley, Peter Ford, and Ahmad Taki, All Rights Reserved. Permissions: cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com From Manual to Hybrid, Parametric Mashrabiya: Digital Workflow for the Re-envisioning and Conservation of Eastern Architectural Screens and the Engagement of Digital Tectonics Nehal Almerbati, De Montfort University, United Kingdom Dustin Headley, Kansas State University, United States of America Peter Ford, De Montfort University, United Kingdom Ahmad Taki, De Montfort University, United Kingdom Abstract: This research seeks to bridge the gap between traditional artisans and emerging digital craftsmen generated by the Arts and Crafts movement of the late nineteenth century and the third Industrial Revolution (Krugh 2014; Economist 2012) now underway via material culturalism as outlined by Grier (1996). Mashrabiya, an Eastern patterned screen, represents an architectural construction that is rooted in cultural and functional parameters, but whose craftsmen have become essentially extinct due to industrialization. In looking at the preservation and redesign of this archetype, the digital tectonic (Beesley and Seebohm 2000) becomes a powerful agent in reconciling tradition with contemporary manufacturing via 3D printing. The authors are exploring the cultural foundations of the Mashrabiya in order to understand how these act as measurable parameters in the re-envisioning of the construction. This paper presents the background, relevant work, and the workflow for the first array of 3D-printed Mashrabiya, exploring their viability and re-insertion into architecture. This research seeks to bridge the gap between traditional artisans and emerging digital craftsmen generated by the Arts and Crafts movement of the late nineteenth century and the third Industrial Revolution (Krugh 2014; Economist 2012) now underway via material culturalism as outlined by Grier (1996). Mashrabiya, an Eastern patterned screen, represents an architectural construction that is rooted in cultural and functional parameters, but whose craftsmen have become essentially extinct due to industrialization. In looking at the preservation and redesign of this archetype, the digital tectonic (Beesley and Seebohm 2000) becomes a powerful agent in reconciling tradition with contemporary manufacturing via 3D printing. The authors are exploring the cultural foundations of the Mashrabiya in order to understand how these act as measurable parameters in the re-envisioning of the construction. This paper presents the background, relevant work, and the workflow for the first array of 3D-printed Mashrabiya, exploring their viability and re-insertion into architecture.