From presentation to reality. Translating the topological space to the euclidean space

The advent of the Digital Turn in architecture calls for reconsidering many conventional design phenomena. Nowadays communication is on computer and computers already alter how we experience design spaces and virtual scenarios. However, implementation brings a rupture to the design process. Even though the expression of any formal intention is possible on the screen, their realisation by industrial construction techniques comes with difficulties. Material-based design research involving manufacturing can also open new approaches to architectural creation.

Robotic technologies and 3D printing are translators between the virtual and physical realms, such as construction workers and industrial machines. While representation already follows the digital logic, materialisation is often still industrial, creating a rupture in the design process.

This paper seeks to highlight the tension points where materiality can connect computation through new media to create a coherent workflow, where the information of the material is an incentive driver of the design process. The question we are ask is whether virtual and physical materiality are derivatives of each other or is it time to recognise them independently?