The Object of Architecture

The Architecture of the Object

Project Details

Student/s: Loukidou Eleni

Date: September 27, 2016

Design as a mental process has always been attached with human activity. It monitors the cultural evolution of society through history and it’s formed proportionally. In primitive societies it was an unconscious and necessary process, whereas in historical ancient years used to be a profit of few talented people in order to make specific buildings (temples, palaces etc) or objects. Since then design appears only in architecture. In the 18th century, a series of new discoveries, like that of the steam engine (1769), causes the industrial revolution, which is a landmark in the evolution of design. The advanced needs of society in conjunction with the technological advances of the times, lead to mass production, which brings the product design to the fore. Product Design refers to the production of objects that are a result of design, have an aesthetic and functional value and can be produced in line. From the beginning of the history of product design a lot of architects design both buildings and products which, as a fact, enhances their correlation. Some of the greatest architects of the 20th century such as Le Corbusier, Mies Van Der Rohe and F. L. Wright design furniture and other timeless objects. Industry gradually overwhelms society and enlists architects to design the world around it. At the end of the 20th century, product design becomes innovative using the digital evolution. For the first time, product designers use Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/ CAM) whereas architects follow their paradigm much later. Nowadays, we are witnesses of the digital revolution where the continuous demand of decreasing the time of creation has as a result the elimination of distance between design and manufacturing. Modern technological advances in design, give rise to a new trend, which aims to personalize the product and no longer its mass production. This trend emerges by the sophisticated consumer society, which is no longer satisfied by mass-produced products. While architects and designers are turning to digital search form, based on a new parametric logic, based on fulfillment of individual needs. The common methods of the morphogenetic process, common materials and components between architectural and product design has a result that these two disciplines often borrow elements from each other. This thesis tries to compare the parallel evolution of architectural and product design through history in order to define their relation and the factors that shaped it and to draw conclusions, for both their current course and future development. The approach of the relationship between architecture and product design is attempted with the comparative study of parallel historical evolution, since the appearance of product design aiming to determine the reasons that led to their current form. Then the research focuses to the present, where we study the latest developments in architecture and product design, according to three key factors: form , construction and materials. Finally, it attempts to draw conclusions regarding their relationship, their current status, as amended by this relationship and finally the possibilities and prospects of product design to provide solutions to contemporary architectural language and the requirements of society.

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