[BENT]

Abstract

Over the past two decades, advances in computation, digital fabrication, and robotics have opened up new avenues for the design and production of complex forms, emergent processes, as well as new levels of efficiency. Many of these methods, however, tend to focus on a specific tool, such as the industrial robotic arm. Due to their initial costs and space/power/safety requirements, difficulties associated in creating automated workflows and custom tooling, as well as the need for reliable/repeatable procedures, these tools are often out of reach for the average designer or design institution. Additionally, these tools are typically treated as methods of production rather than collaborators, leaving outcomes that can feel void of craft, with the appearance of a typical CNC-machined object. Rather than focusing on a specific production tool for manufacturing, this paper investigates a novel method for holographic handcraft-based production. This holographic augmentation—of simple and easily attainable analog tool sets—allows for the creation of extremely complex forms with high levels of precision in extremely short time frames. Through the lens of the recently completed steam-bent timber installation [BENT] produced at the Tyler School of Art, this paper discusses how Microsoft HoloLens in conjunction with the Fologram software plug-in can be integrated into the entirety of design and production processes as a means of producing a new typology of digital craft.