Yasmin Ali

This year, STICK held their annual conference at the Scottish Heritage Building Trust in Riddle's Court, Edinburgh, along the them of Form vs Function in industrial design and engineering, specifically related to its impact on our perceptions of our past, present and future. It was introduced and chaired by Miriam McDonald and John Hume of RCAHMS, and included speakers from Glasgow School of Art, Museums in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and Directors from George Gilbert Associates.

Themes of talks along the dialectics of Form vs Function included academic discourse, museum collections, 3D printing, visual communication, longevity of design and ergonomics. Amongst the presentations those most relevant to architecture specifically included two in the afternoon which related to 3D printing, led by George Gilbert and Kelvin Donaldson, two founding directors of Edinburgh-based George Gilbert Associates and alumni of Edinburgh College of Art.

In 2006, George Gilbert Associates became the first architecture firm in Scotland to invest in in-house 3D printing technology and facilities, and began a two-year Research & Development program to learn the most efficient ways of working with the technology. The models produced allowed them to accurately portray to clients and planners editable prospective designs in physical form. The tactility and sense of scale allowed by the prints made the designs easy to read and comprehend. The 3D prints also fed back into the iterative design process and were used as a design tool to help generate and refine architectural and urban forms.

As well as in-house use, the firm takes specialist commissions from other architects and building design professionals, as well as signature architects like Will Alsop;  in addition to applications by other industries, including gaming and museums. They have produced a 3D model for NMS of Craigellachie Bridge for the 250 year anniversary of Thomas Telford in 2007. This was produced using original engravings as the input for the plot files, and was especially significant as little cultural materials remain of Telford's estate as he did not marry nor have heirs. Rowan Brown of the National Mining Museum of Scotland spoke of the commission in the short talk which followed Gilbert Associates' presentation. The commission was doubly significant in both subject and medium as it represented the prowess of technology in its day as well as forming a record of the result contemporary engineering techniques used in 3D printing.

Other speakers included museum curators from National Museums Scotland and Glagow Museums, and academics and practitioners of design and engineering from Glasgow School of Art. The concluding talk was by Helen Britt from the GSA Textile department, who introduce the Stoddart-Templeton Design Studio + Library project, an archive spanning the company and its subsidiaries history from 1843-2005. This archive of physical material including drawings, samples and source materials has been acquired by GSA in partnership with the University of Glasgow and Glasgow Life. It forms the basis of an upcoming exhibition 'Interwoven Connections' at the Mackintosh Museum opening in early November this year.

All-in-all an interesting day with lively speakers dealing with the broad rhetoric of Form and Function from many original angles. The event was hosted at Scottish Historic Buildings Trust at Riddle's Court, Edinburgh, a beautiful A-listed building currently fundraising for upcoming conservation and development to form the Patrick Geddes Centre for Learning and Innovation.

With Thanks to STICK network.

Weblinks

STICK - here

STICK stands for the Scottish Transport & Industry Collections and Knowledge network, a group of professionals including museum curators, academics, engineers and designers who work together encourage wider engagement with transport and industrial collections across Scotland. It is free to join for interested individuals.

Gilbert Associates 3D website - here

Stoddart-Templeton Archive - here

Interwoven Connections: The Stoddart-Templeton Design Studio + Library 1843-2005. Mackintosh Museum, The Glasgow School of Art, 167 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3 6RF, 9th November 2013 – 11th January 2014 (closed 24th December 2013 – 2nd January 2014)

SHBT - here

Online donations being taken for the building conservation campaign and programme at Riddle's Court.