Digital Manual was a solo exhibition by Material Architecture Lab, a research laboratory at The Bartlett School of Architecture (B-Pro), University College London. Co-directed by Dr Guan Lee and Daniel Widrig, Material Architecture Lab applies digital fabrication techniques to a range of everyday matter, finding new applications in craft, design and architecture.

 

The title Digital Manual is a reference to the lab’s way of working between hand and machine. Where many processes for digital fabrication stay on the computer, Lee and Widrig encourage research that goes between modelling software, and hands-on experimentation with real and messy materials. The exhibition will show over 20 experiments at various scales in coiled coconut fibre, 3D-printed sand, resin, recycled plastic modules, and slip-cast ceramic. The selected exhibits will show how the lab works in a spontaneous way, rather than towards a fixed result or form.

 

Much of the lab’s experimentation happens at Grymsdyke Farm in Buckinghamshire, which Lee transformed into a teaching and research facility in 2010. Practicing architects and designers, as well as students can use workshops with CNC milling machines, 3D-printers, water-jet cutters, ceramic kilns, laser-cutters, casting studios, and a robotic arm.

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Photos: Agnese Sanvito