Product Development and Architecture: Visions, Methods, Innovations

From idea to product

In the construction sector, demand is steadily increasing for innovative products. Product Development and Architecture presents selected examples that illustrate how the planning disciplines can contribute to such innovations in building. Introductory essays comprehensively explain the thematic and methodological framework. Case studies exemplify the transformation of ideas into prototypes or products.
Creating dynamics, shifting boundaries, building and expanding networks, conserving resources, developing and optimizing planning tools, as well as implementing use-additive processes — all these processes are discussed in order to clarify the necessary collaboration between various actors in the construction industry. Groundbreaking solutions clearly explain the role applied sciences play in the active collaboration between university and industry, as well as the interdisciplinary integration of disciplines and experts.
This publication presents interdisciplinary collaborative projects such as the “Seaweed Facade,” which resulted in the realization of a building with a bioreactor facade at the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg in 2012, or the "Printed Envelope,” the result of a collaborative research project in which free forms for the facade design were generated from 3D computer-generated processes.