For the first time in Brazil, architects from the computation department, CO|DE of Zaha Hadid Architects, Shajay e Vishu Bhooshan, who are also professors of architecture in the Digital Research Laboratory (DR_L) of the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London, taught how to program and use robots for the fabrication of architecture, for the 10-day design workshop of the Architectural Association Visiting School São Paulo, which took place at the Fab Lab of the Bela Artes School of Architecture, from the 4th to the 13th of July, 2016.
This School explored Computer Aided Design (CAD) as a means to enable architectural creativity whilst still responding to complex spatial and material performance constraints. The workshop focused on the relations between contemporary design techniques, creative expression, software technology and its manifestation using Robotic Fabrication. It also sought to use production-proven design methods and software platforms in a judicious mix with innovative research.
The goal was to continue both the exploration and streamlining of the multi-stage process of concept to physical manifestation and the agenda of exploring physics-based design methods, integration of form and structure, computational methods of optimization for Robotic Fabrication and adaptation to local means, methods and craft.
Also to design-build a sizeable prototype as part of the primary objective: ‘learning-by-doing’. The participants were exposed to the same design tools, techniques and analysis methods as the ones used to design and build the prototype, using Maya, Rhino Grasshopper and Visual studio , C++.
