The New Tradition - Dialogues on Production in Architecture

Tools of digitalisation and automation are changing the labour market and human’s interaction with production material in general. In architectural processes, this change involves the stage of production but also, and more interestingly, the design one. Architecture has a social role, which includes many processes. Each process requires different times, challenges, and tools. Consequently, the impact of innovation is not the same for these processes. Many manufactories require innovative design and advanced researches. These manufactories have different relationships with digitalisation and innovation, and not all factories have advanced technology; the lack of updates is due to financial or cultural reasons. This paper aims at investigating the production of structural wood components of the architectural process. The analysis of the impact of innovation in the architectural process cannot be limited to robot or other digital tools, but it is necessary to consider the social and cultural context as well (1). The study is divided in two sections: (2) the role of architecture at the margin of numerous processes (between design and production), but also between innovation and tradition. The investigation needs to include many factors in order to best describe how innovation affects the design and the production. (3) The methodology is structured in three dialogues: with research, design, and manufacturing. Each one of these has specific limits and tools. The collected data describes the role of innovation and tradition in the specific sector of structural wood components of the architectural process.