Coded_Matter Design Lab

Background

We stand before the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution. In recent years we witnessed an extending advancement in the development of digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printing, robotic fabrication and digital knitting. These technologies together with IoT and AI, will shift industrial manufacturing from large plants to smaller, local digital factories, disrupting the business models and supply chains of entire industries. This revolution will transform not only how and where products are made, but also how products are designed, which therefore require new skills and knowledge from designers. Moreover, this shift will change designers’ approach to product design.

After years of detachment between design and manufacturing, the means of manufacturing will be democratized and accessible for designers and makers.  It can be presumed that designers will be engaged in the making, and fabrication will be an inseparable part of the design process. Much like before the first industrial revolution, designers will again craft products, this time digitally. Algorithms, coding and digital fabrication machines will be their fundamental and primary tools.

Research focus

We explore the correlation between computational design and digital manufacturing in the context of personalization and customization of products, focusing on textiles and close-to-the-body products.

Lab research focus areas:

• Smart digital textiles
• Robotic assemblies & composites
• Programmable Materials