The FARMM lab is collaborating with Holzraum System and Cadwork to advance education and develop expertise in Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) sectors. This work addresses the growing need for high-performance and industrialized construction methods by linking Cadwork directly into Rhino 3D to reduce barriers between design and production.

Steve Hessler and Ilka Cassidy from Holzraum System came to Montreal to work with our team from May 25th to 30th. Together, they possess decades of expertise in architectural, structural, and heavy timber design, with a focus on off-site manufactured, high-performance, low-carbon construction. Their visit included a day trip to Ottawa to meet with the CIMS and CSALT lab teams at Carleton University. We are collectively developing processes, tools and a curriculum to facilitate DfMA uptake in high performance construction. On May 28th, Bertrand Eyffred from Cadwork North-America joined us to discuss how Cadwork can support the next stages of workflow development and research.

Cumulatively, the expertise and input of Holzraum and Cadwork are critical to advancing this work and strengthening the connection between academia and practice.

Steve, Ilka, and Bertrand work with members of the Reconstruct Initiative to review a Cadwork model.