Zach Downey’s Profile

Faculty
Active 9 years, 10 months ago
Zach Downey
Display Name
Zach Downey
Title
Adjunct Professor
Department
Architectural Technology

My Courses

ARCH3590 Introduction to Computation and Fabrication Spring 2014

ARCH3590 Introduction to Computation and Fabrication Spring 2014

This course, taught by Prof. Leonhardt and myself, is an introduction to digital fabrication. It will explore the qualities of materials such as wood, concrete, and plastics in the context of computational design and digital fabrication thinking and techniques. Projects will provide students with experience in the use of a variety of tools, equipment, concepts, and emerging digitally-driven technologies, including parametric rule-based design, subtractive fabrication, assembly techniques, and iterative design processes

Introduction to Computation and Fabrication

Introduction to Computation and Fabrication

This course is an introduction to digital fabrication. It will explore the qualities of materials such as wood, concrete, and plastics in the context of computational design and digital fabrication thinking and techniques. Projects will provide students with experience in the use of a variety of tools, equipment, concepts, and emerging digitally-driven technologies, including parametric rule-based design, subtractive fabrication, assembly techniques, and iterative design processes

My Projects

Closing the Loop

Closing the Loop

The Closing the Loop Project explores how recent technological advances in the AEC industry have increased the potential of façade performance. In this project we are implementing an interdisciplinary student initiative, where various courses collaborate on portions of the design process of façade panels, and through this process, fully close the design/analysis/fabrication/validation loop. Data sets arising from digital models can now be shared synchronously between various disciplines as well as iteratively throughout the design process. These data exchanges are facilitated by the integration of natural programming languages into traditional modeling environments and a profusion of open source software development. The increased efficiency and corresponding cost- effectiveness of a collaborative, performance-based design process has led to a heightened call for this practice by clients and building industry legislators alike. The pedagogical challenge of a collaborative approach is not only to teach the technical skills of computational design, like scripting and parametrics, but also instill a sensibility of how to begin an adaptive, intelligent digital model that will be efficient for downstream interoperability, moving from parametric modelers to BIM families, to energy analyses, and on to direct fabrication. A new Center for Performative Design & Engineering, at NYCCT, created with National Science Foundation funding, brings together different disciplines involved in BIM (Building Information Modeling), Building Performance, and Fabrication, to teach new research methodologies and concepts through design, assembly, and testing. This project illustrates actionable responses to environmental inputs that feed into the fabrication of innovative developable and deployable surfaces.

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