(Re)Thinking the Brick: Digital Tectonic Masonry Systems

"The introduction of digital tools in the production of architecture undoubtedly constitutes the main force behind contemporary architectural innovation. In addition, the interaction of digital technologies with analog craft manufacturing -a rather unexplored field of study- suggests a wide range of novel opportunities. This research focuses on developing a framework for deploying digital design techniques to the production of bricks under vernacular technology as a medium of achieving geometrical variations and functional complexity in domestic-scale projects. Solid clay bricks are embedded in traditional ceramic-construction culture. Thus, this investigation faces the challenges of making a feasible innovative system in a country where digital fabrication is not an economically viable option, and engaging a design that can be easily implemented with current hand-labour. Consequently, the new bricks would be massively introduced in the construction market, allowing novel formal and functional possibilities for designers.