Working Prototypes. Design, Manufacture, Test!

The exhibition showcases a selection of working prototypes from the 2010 Smart Geometry workshop held in Barcelona in March of this year. The Working Prototypes challenge, that was chosen at Smart Geometry, inspired participants to design and assemble functioning prototypes which would verify the performance of a new design system or product. Organised around clusters of expertise and with access to a digital fabrication laboratory, a five-axis robot and the latest parametric software, the prototypes embrace a rich spectrum of experimental approaches and techniques. The working prototypes exhibited result from the iterative process of designing, testing, evaluating and progressively refining designs.

What is Smart Geometry? Smart Geometry is a network of practitioners that aims to stimulate and educate architects, engineers and designers in the field of computational design and digital manufacturing.
 The annual Smart Geometry workshop is a unique creative cauldron attracting attendees from across the world of academia and professional practice, as well as, many of the brightest students, all of whom come together for four intense days of design and collaboration.

What is prototyping? Prototyping is an integral part of the design process. Prototypes allow designers to explore alternatives, test theories and confirm the performance of a new design system or product. Prototypes are generally built for those aspects of a design not yet resolved: for example, to verify the performance or suitability of a specific design approach. By their very definition, prototypes are at the critical intersection of ideas and material reality. They are the proving ground of design success or failure.

Credits

Organization and production: Museu del Disseny de Barcelona (formerly the DHUB - Disseny Hub Barcelona)
Curator: Jonathan Rabagliati
Content Coordinator: Carlos Ipser
Exhibition Co-ordinator: Àngela Cuenca
Exhibition design: Jordi Torres
Graphic design: Francesco Vedovato
Videos: ON i ON communicación
Texts: Jonathan Rabagliati
Revision and Translation: Glòria Bohigas, Graham Thomson
Installation of the exhibition: Jordi Ballester

Smart Geometry Workshop
Organizers: Xavier De Kestelier, Jonathan Rabagliati
Principal software vendor and sponsor: Bentley
Workshop hosts: IAAC
Special thanks to: Marta Malé-Alemany