Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Nottingham Trent Institutional Repository (IRep) VOLUME 10 ISSUE 2 The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design _________________________________________________________________________ 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, DUSTIN HEADLEY, PETER FORD, AND AHMAD TAKI desiGNPRINCIPLesaNDPRACtiCes.COM EDITORS Lorenzo Imbesi, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Loredana Di Lucchio, University of Rome, Italy COMMUNITY EDITOR Jeremy Boehme, Common Ground Publishing, USA ADVISORY BOARD Genevieve Bell, Intel Corporation, USA Michael Biggs, University of Hertfordshire, UK Jeanette Blomberg, IBM Almaden Research Center, USA Patrick Dillon, Exeter University, UK Michael Gibson, University of North Texas, USA Loredana Di Lucchio, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Jorge Frascara, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Canada Judith Gregory, Institute of Design, USA; University of Oslo, Norway Christian Guellerin, L'École de design Nantes Atlantique, France Tracy S. Harris, The American Institute of Architects, USA Clive Holtham, City of London University, UK Lorenzo Imbesi, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy Hiroshi Ishii, MIT Media Lab, USA Gianni Jacucci, University of Trento, Italy Klaus Krippendorff , University of Pennsylvania, USA Bill Lucas, MAYA Fellow, MAYA Design, Inc., USA Ezio Manzini, Politecnico of Milano, Italy Mario Minichiello, University of Newcastle, Australia Guillermina Noël, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Canada Mahendra Patel, Leaf Design, India Toni Robertson, University of Technology Sydney, Australia Terry Rosenberg, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK Keith Russell, University of Newcastle, Australia Maria Cecilia Loschiavo dos Santos, University of São Paulo, Brazil Louise St. Pierre, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Canada ASSOCIATE EDITORS Articles published in The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design are peer reviewed by scholars who are active participants of the Design Principles and Practices Journal Collection or a thematically related Knowledge Community. Reviewers are acknowledged as Associate Editors in the corresponding volume of the journal. For a full list of past and current Associate Editors please visit www.designprinciplesandpractices.com/journals/editors. ARTICLE SUBMISSION The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental Design publishes quarterly (March, June, September, December). To find out more about the submission process, please visit http://www.designprinciplesandpractices.com/journals/call-for-papers. ABSTRACTING AND INDEXING For a full list of databases in which this journal is indexed, please visit www.designprinciplesandpractices.com/journals/collection THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTONIC, SPATIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN KNOWLEDGE COMMUNITY MEMBERSHIP Authors in The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and www.designprinciplesandpractices.com Environmental Design are members of the Design Principles and ISSN: 2325-1662 (Print) Practices Journal Collection or a thematically related Knowledge ISSN: 2325-1670 (Online) Community. Members receive access to journal content. For more, doi:10.18848/2325-1662/CGP (Journal) visit www.designprinciplesandpractices.com/about/become-a-member. First published in 2016 in Champaign, Illinois, USA by Common Ground Publishing SUBSCRIPTIONS The International Journal of Architectonic, Spatial, and Environmental www.commongroundpublishing.com Design is available in electronic and print formats. 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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. Keywords: Mashrabiya, Culture, Craft, 3D Printing, Parametric Architecture, Heritage Conservation. I. Introduction aterial culturalism is defined by Grier (1996) as the study of a subject matter that takes in the ‘biosocial environment’ from cultural buildings and landscapes. These valuable Mcollections of artifacts reflect the lifestyles, interactions, environments and eras of people’s parents. Material culturists believe that the study of objects and artifacts and the circumstances in which they were made reveals unique perspectives and data that have not been well documented. Islamic Architecture is a rich cultural example with its delicate and geometrically advanced artifacts and production methods (Kaplan 2002). Analysis into historic archetypes, specifically Mashrabiya, can significantly influence the current and future design of architecture facade treatments that could comply with the harsh environmental conditions in the Middle East. John Fenny (1974) poetically describes the silken masks of the Mashrabiya as symbolizing the “legendary mystery of the Orient.” Within Eastern cultures, this architectural construction is a three-dimensional, carved wood lattice structure whose primary function is to control visual privacy as well as temperature and lighting in interior spaces (Samuels 2011). The Mashrabiya, as studied by Hassan Fathy (1986), represents an architectural screen that has five functional dimensions that are achieved through parametric variation in the material thickness and member density: controlling the passage of light, controlling the air flow, reducing the temperature of the air current, raising the humidity of the air current, and ensuring the privacy of the inhabitants within the Haramlak or Harim (women’s quarter) in the courtyard houses of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and other eastern countries (see Abdelgelil 2006; Almurahhem 2011). 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: [email protected] THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTONIC, SPATIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN Figure 1: The Craft of Mashrabiya Making Using Lathing Tools Source: http://qanzaman.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/blog-post_9979.html This vernacular architectural construction requires significant craftsmanship in developing the individually hand-turned parts that work together in the overall assembly (Figure 2). As these craftsmen have become more and more scarce, the architecture has continued to become a caricature, losing much of its cultural value and passive performative functions. The high cost