Bowstring Transformation
Dianqiu Zheng

- SP.18
- Level: undergraduate
- Discipline: Architecture
Conversation and interaction between handcraft and technology are at the heart of this project. Constant conversions between physical objects and digital forms challenge both computation and fabrication. The obsessiveness and imperfections of the machines are not so different from that of human’s. The counter intuitive description of surfaces using point cloud creates an overwhelming atmosphere from the simplest objects. The jitters and clumsiness of the KUKA robotic arms showed how machines can have a “personal” touch to the drawing as well. The layers, grain and transparency of the 3d printing material softens the resolution of digital models and made us wonder and contemplate the “craftsmanship” of the machine. Under the process of digital fabrication and design, this project employs the traditional techniques and thinking to produce an example of what craftsmanship means in the digital age.