Fabrication, part of Design Media 2

SALA, University of British Columbia
Adjunct Appointment
2019, 2020, 2022-2024

Course Brief:

The Fabrication module can be understood as a primer into SALA’s tools and facilities, as well as an overview of concepts and fabrication techniques. Students are asked to examine a single building for the duration of the module and study it at different scales using various methods. With a focus on experimentation, the objective of the module is to enable students to fully utilize the fabrication tools and facilities that SALA has to offer, develop their digital and physical modeling skills, and increase their understanding of the relationship between design and fabrication.

The module examines the work of Alvar Aalto to provide a framework and context for the course work. Students select a project which they will spend the entirety of the module examining and studying at different scales.

Over the course of the eight-week module, students are expected to utilize the workshop, CNC machine and 3D printers to fabricate a collection of three objects that are displayed in a final exhibition. The first object is a small-scale conceptual model, the second object is a larger-scale study model of a particular part of the project and the third object is a prototype of a chosen detail. The collection of objects must employ all tools and facilities mentioned above. Emphasis is placed on workflow and the use of tools as part of the fabrication process, not necessarily as the end result.

The concept model of the Saynatsalo Townhall (by Alvar Aalto) shown above was built by Massimo Pecoraro in 2019.