Web-based distributed design to fabrication workflows

Abstract

As architectural design projects tend to tackle larger scales and become more complex, multiple involved actors often need to work from different remote locations. This increased complexity impacts the digital design-to-fabrication workflows that become more challenging, as each actor involved in a project operates on different software environments and needs to access precise fabrication data of specific design components. Consequently, managing and keeping track of design changes throughout the design-to-fabrication workflow still remains a challenge for all actors involved. This paper discusses how this challenge can be tackled through both Speckle, a complete open source data platform for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), and SpeckleViz, a custom web-based interactive Activity Network Diagram (AND) built upon Speckle. SpeckleViz continuously maps data transfers across design and building processes, enabling the end-users to explore, interact and get a better understanding of the constantly evolving digital design workflows. This is demonstrated in this paper through a computational design and digital fabrication workshop conducted at the Centro de Estudios Superiores de Diseño de Monterrey (CEDIM), during which an integrative, file-less collaborative design workflow has been set through Speckle, connecting different Rhino-Grasshopper sessions acting as discrete computational design pipelines.