Mechanization applied to Onsite building reformed construction; its major implication was the development of an innumerable variety of elements, pieces, components, and products, rapidly, affordably, and according to rigorous dimensional parameters. These products were cataloged for every use and illustrated in trade journals that shifted architectural design from artisan-based decisions to an informed «bricolage» of cataloged and mass-produced parts. A quick look at the FW Dodge Sweets Catalog (1909-) published as the classifying system for the industry in North America offers a glimpse into a normalized systemic relationship between the factory and the design process. Replaced today by on-line editions, the Sweets catalogues were a staple of architectural design firms’ libraries. Component interoperability, another tenet of industrialization, outlined modular coordination and systemic classification of building design methodology.
The mass production of objects or parts diversified even further into the supply of many different options from basic components. Textures, profiles, adjustable shapes or colors, pieces could be molded, rolled or embossed with differentiated mechanical and automated continuity. Further, batch production made it possible to mass produce series of particularized elements if the quantity justified the development of a specific die or mold.
Frank Lloyd Wright's “textile blocks” carry this heritage as the same basic interlocking masonry unit was molded, repeated but diversified by replacing the its facing. The design of a singular surface from a mass-produced block became the symbol of multiple iconic Wright houses. Today’s manufacturing potentials further enhance this customization potential. Wright's textile blocks' lots were contingent to quantity, however digital fabrication tools simplify the onerous development of dies for molds and introduce the idea of a reduced series from a printed or digitally produced form. Emerging Objects’ Quake Column, part of a similar tradition of interlocking ashlar inspired stonework illustrates this new direction where architects invent intelligent and specifically designed components and even define the instructions for their use. Where the textile block required a dimensional standardization according to a normalized mold, the 3d printing technique used by Emerging Objects removes the pattern mold from the process by producing completely customized interlocking parts.
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| Comparative analysis of Textile Blocks and Quake Column |
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