Adaptation of a semi-industrial craft to be introduced into the classroom: design and digital fabrication in the production of hydraulic tiles

Abstract

New possibilities for contemporary design and creation are emerging through the hybridization of digital fabrication technologies with the principles of maker culture and endangered knowledge. This combination presents challenges in terms of training, socio-occupational inclusion, redefinition of techniques, tools, processes, environments, and products, but also offers potential for revaluing artisanal and semi-industrial heritage. As a result, disciplinary boundaries are being explored, extended, and disseminated. This research focuses on the adaptation of hydraulic tile making, a semi-industrial craft in decline, as an educational tool in the classroom. We focus on providing access to the making of these pieces in environments not equipped with the traditional tools of the craft, as well as to the full process of design and manufacture. The method of manufacture is first analysed through ethnographic exploration and bibliographic consultation, and then explored in the Fab Lab with the support of digital design and fabrication. As a result, instrumental and procedural contributions will be presented in order to approach and validate them in the classroom in a later stage of the research. They are expected to facilitate a learning process around designing and making hydraulic tiles that will broaden the understanding and application of Maker Culture, propose collaborative practices in the classroom, and connect with the territory through a local problem.