Abstract

The literature on design methods suitable for research related Balancing Design to the built environment is prolific. But the majority of methods are derived from other fields and consequently do not leverage Conjecture and the unique ability of designers to thrive in open-ended settings that include elements of exploration (Knight and Ruddock Research Analytics 2008). Designers are content to begin exploring thematic briefs—for example, the opportunities for robotic fabrication to shape stone in order to create translucencies. A study of this sort initially addresses a design challenge and only later solves a related research problem, such as the lack of appropriate digi- tal workflows. Over the past two decades, highly creative and often speculative research has emerged out of the confluence of digital design and fabrication methods, robotics and material innovation. Within this area, work at the Material Processes and Systems (MaP+S) group at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, along with similar work at Stuttgart’s Institute of Computational Design and elsewhere, focuses on the intersection of material innovation, robotics, and design computation: material systems studies (Bechthold and King 2012). MaP+S methods have proven successful in blending creative thinking, conjecture, and open- ended agendas with the ability to stay focused