Zellij is the centuries-old traditional Moroccan craft of cutting and arranging mosaic tiles into complex geometric patterns. This Master’s thesis aims to explore whether new use cases for zellij can be generated by the introduction of digital fabrication tools. This research intends to demonstrate the predisposition of Islamic art for such a digitalisation because of its reliance on mathematical properties, as well as its spiritual and philosophical roots in the materialisation of abstraction. Furthermore, an argument is made for digital fabrication to be understood as a craft rather than an industrial process. The outcome of this project is a tangible interface prompting a discussion about the future of zellij patterns in a hands-on fashion, and enabling the development of hybrid fabrication processes – a human-machine collaboration for traditional Moroccan craft.
«Armin’s Master’s thesis marks an important step in demonstrating the value of digital fabrication for exploring shapes, patterns and combinations of geometries, thus expanding our perception of our spatial environment and offering playful ways to intervene in the public and private space by means of tiles and mosaics. Moreover, by situating the research in a study of the traditional Moroccan craft of zellij, the thesis invites us to consider the often overlooked dialogues between analog and digital, tradition and innovation, hand craft and machine craft, religious legacy and a secular viewpoint. This is also a very unique opportunity to highlight an ancestral knowledge passed down from generation to generation, in Morocco, a country very strongly attached to its craft culture that should be better known.» – Excerpt supporting statement of the Subject Area Interaction Design
«This system provides a platform for the discussion between relevant stakeholders of the status quo and the future, and for the possible evolution of zellij by enabling an explorative approach to pattern design, providing a more intimate understanding of the traditional craft and opening the gates for a new generation of parametric zellij patterns and hybrid fabrication workflows.» – Armin Aschenbrenner
«In the future, I want to work as a computational designer, and continue to blur the boundaries between the digital and the material worlds.» – Armin Aschenbrenner
