Digital Expansion of Stereotomy - A semantic classification

This paper presents a critical analysis and reflection on stereotomy with the purpose of updating its theoretical discourse. Having risen to the apex of architecture technological possibilities in the 17th century, stereotomic construction lost its importance in favour of iron, steel and other materials and construction techniques brought by the Industrial Revolution. More recently, much owing to the possibilities offered by digital technologies, a resurgence of interest in the subject has spawned various researches which bring stereotomy back to the architectural discourse. Although technological applications and design innovations in service of stereotomy have developed in multiple interesting paths, there is a lack of a common theory on the subject which is capable of relating these multiple apparently diverging stereotomic approaches between each other and, maybe even more importantly, to the classical practice which sparked the development this discipline. The research presented in this paper shows how the digital tools were instrumental in bringing this tradition to architecture contemporaneity and how a current stereotomy is largely supported by these technologies, while keeping strong relations to its classic origin.