Fabrication and Form

Prof. Dov Ganchrow, Elan Leor
The Department of Industrial Design
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem
First year studies, second semester, 2 academic points, Monday 14:00-17:00
Fabrication and Form
Synopsis:
An object's form is determined by many factors; some material, some environmental, some functional or cultural, and others technological.
The course focuses attention to the correlation of form to its means of manufacture/making. While at the most basic level material form is governed by laws of physics, human-guided working of material will most often produce forms that can clearly be identified as an expression of the chosen means of manipulation. A clay pot thrown on the potter's-wheel will most likely produce a circular concentric form due to the materials rotation on an axis. Observing an object's form can lead to identifying the technology employed in its making.
While archaeologists may look at an object/artifact and see the technology used in its making, designers look at a technology and see the objects/forms it can produce. This can be exemplified on tools as varied as a table-saw and drill-press, all the way to FDM printers and CAD software. A designer's fluency in methods of fabrication, can be expressed not only in well-correlated forms, but also in stretching technologies and hence the forms they produce.
This theme will find expression in the course, through exposure, discussion, practice, and includes:
- A broad acquaintance with materials and technologies
- Reverse engineering of existing products
- Overseeing a complete design/planning process from idea, through modeling iterations (geometry and forces, materials, tolerances etc.), technical drawing, all the way through execution in the workshops
- Control of form via the fabrication means employed