MADE FOR YOU

“YOU CAN HAVE ANY COLOUR YOU LIKE AS LONG AS ITS BLACK”
THIS WAS THE MOST USED PARADIGM OF THE LAST CENTURY WHICH WAS DOMINATED BY THE IDEA OF MASS PRODUCTION. THE IDEA OF MASS PRODUCTION WHICH IMPLIED AFFORDABILITY AND STANDERDIZATION ON ONE HAND DENIED SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HETEROGINIETY ON THE OTHER. ALTHOUGH SOME ATTEMPTS WERE MADE TO OFFER PERSONAL CHOICE BUT FAILED SPECTACULARLY. ‘FOR EXAMPLE IN 1940 WALTER GROPIUS DEVELOPED FACTORY BASED MASS PRODUCTION SYSTEM TO OFFER HIGHLY CUSTOMIZABLE HOMES ’THE PACKAGED HOUSE’. THE IDEA WAS TO MEET CLIENT’S DESIRE FOR INDIVIDUALITY AND PLEASURE OF PERSONAL CHOICE BY PROVISION OF INTERCHANGABLE PARTS. HOWEVER HE SOON REALIZED THAT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO OFFER PERSONAL CHOICE WITH THEIR SYSTEM AND THE FACTORY WHICH WAS BUILT TO PRODUCE 10,000 HOUSES / YEAR CLOSED BEFORE MANUFACTURING EVEN 200.’ (A+U) TODAY MORE THAN HALF CENTURY LATER THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES OFFER US FLEXIBLE AND AGILE SOLUTIONS OF CUSTOMIZATION COMPARED TO INFLEXIBLE SYSTEM OF MASS PRODUCTION. THE USE OF CAD-CAE-CAM TECHNOLOGIES NOT ONLY OFFER CUSTOMIZATION AT EVERY LEVEL (DESIGN/ENGINEERING/MANUFACTURING) BUT ALSO SMOOTH TRANSITION BETWEEN EACH OF THEM. THE DETAILS OF THIS NEW PRODUCTION SYSTEM CAN BE FOUND OUT IN CASE STUDIES OF NIKEID, DELL OR TOYOTA. ALL OF THEM OFFER THE CONSUMER; NUMEROUS CHOICES OF THE PARTS TO SELECT FROM AND TO CREATE A PRODUCT BEST SUITED TO HIS IDENTITY. THUS THE PARADIGM OF THIS CENTURY IS NOT ‘LESS IS MORE’ BUT ‘LESS IS BORE AND MORE IS DIFFERENT’
THE IDEA OF CUSTOMIZATION IN ARCHITECTURE MEANS ‘ONE BUILDING ONE DETAIL’. THE SIMULTANEOUS DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF DIGITAL VISUALIZATION AND DIGITAL FABRICATION MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ARCHITECTS ACTUALIZE THE TECTONICS OF NEW TERRIOTORIES. THE EXAMPLES CAN BE SEEN IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORKS OF FRANK GHERRY, KAS OOSTERHUIS, FUKSSAS AND MORE. WHERE EARLIER ATTEMPTS OF CUSTOMIZATION FAILED BECAUSE OF BEING ECONOMICALLY UNSUSTAINABLE, THE DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ALLOWED PRODUCTION OF CUSTOMIZED PRODUCTS WITH THE SAME ASSEMBLY LINE. FOR EXAMPLE IN THE MILLING PROCESS WHERE VARIATION IN DESIGNS IS OBTAINED BY CHANGING THE MILLING TOOLS OR MILLING PARAMETERS. THE OTHER IMPORTANT ASPECT ABOUT DIGITALLY CUSTOMIZED PRODUCTS IS THEIR PRECISION AND CONTROLLING THE WASTEAGE. THE PRODUCTS CAN BE SEEN AS A SET OF INFORMATION AND THEREFORE CAN BE CONTROLLED AND MANIPULATED BEFORE PRODUCTION OR IN SOME CASEES DURING THE PROCESS OF PRODUCTION. TO CONCLUDE THE IDEA OF CUSTOMIZATION BRINGS UNIQUENESS TO THE DESIGN AND THEREFORE SHOULD BE SEEN AS A DESIGN TOOL IN ORDER TO OPTIMIZE ITS LIMITS.
Interesting article to read here: http://www.di.net/articles/archive/2054/