Machining PRAXIS in Architecture (MPA) is a course series that explores the application of computer numerical control (CNC) machines, computational methods, and machine-oriented manufacturing techniques in architectural design and fabrication.

Each year, the two consecutive MPA courses focus on a specific core subject, through which students engage with the course objectives across two semesters. Core subjects are selected based on their relevance to architectural design and their potential for further investigation and application in real-scale architectural projects.

MPA aims to develop students’ ability to integrate machining and computational processes into architectural design and to engage with materials and fabrication techniques throughout the processes of design, making, and assembly. The course therefore approaches machining not simply as a means of production, but as a potential contributor to the development of architectural ideas and design processes.

MPA also introduces students to broader approaches to computational design and machine-oriented making through the analysis of realized architectural projects. Selected projects will be examined not only from a theoretical perspective but also through a step-by-step investigation of their design and fabrication processes. By tracing specific parts and stages of these projects, students will identify the important design, material, computational, and fabrication parameters involved; examine the challenges addressed by particular techniques; and understand the reasoning behind key decisions.

Through this process, students will explore how computational methods, machines, and particularly machining technologies can actively contribute to architectural design and making, and gain a foundation for developing and applying these techniques in their own projects.