Home Manufcturing

I have been really interested in the rise of home manufacturing products available. It seems that a revolution is happening in the way we aquire things. Traditionally all manufacturing was done at home but the industrial revolution changed all that. The means of production moved out of the home and into factories. Advancements in assembly lines and robotics slowly eroded the need for humans and divorced our connection with the process of construction behind the objects that we use everyday. Most of us have gotten used to simply buying everything we need from store or in more recent times, simply having the things we want show up on our doorsteps.

This may be changing however. There are a more and more products coming to market that bring the manufacturing process back home. From 3d printers like "Makerbot" to laser cutters like the new "Glowforge", we are  bringing the means of production back to our desktops. 

This tool could really make the production of physical models a breeze, not to mention all of the other cool things it could be used for.

Along with the advancements in 3d printing, I think tools like this are quickly making home manufacturing a reality. I can envision a time when your local home improvement stores simply stock raw materials and we "print" objects that we download as 3d files.  

99% Invisible...

For those interested in Architecture and Design, I want to draw your attention to the podcast "99% Invisible".

It is, by far, the best program I have found on all things design-oriented, and is available at:

www.99percentinvisible.org  

The show gets its name from the fact that good design and all of the time and effort that go into it are (and in my opinion should be) 99% Invisible. Every object that we encounter, and there are thousands each day, require inumerable decisions and considerations in order to come into existence. The untold hours of thought and effort usually go completely unnoticed by those of us going about our busy day. This show is dedicated to shining a light on the stories behind these objects and taking a moment to help us appreciate the things in our environment that we take for granted.

Marmol-Radziner on the cover of Dwell

I was pleased to see my old office on the cover of this month's Dwell magazine. 

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend picking up the issue. It has a great piece on pre-fab construction and the enormous benefits that come from it, not to mention great photos of some fantastic examples of what pre-fab can be.