BETWEEN THE FACTORY AND THE FORGE

by Joshua Smith

The project proposes a series of workshops, split between the Factory and the Forge, which will explore the dichotomy between the High tech and Hand made craft in an age where the gap between what people can do and what artificial intelligence and robotics can achieve is constantly shrinking. The Factory is a new makers district, centred around advanced manufacturing technologies, will be created to supply existing and emerging creative studios. The district will help to promote collaboration and cooperation, establishing a creative community that will help to improve Iceland’s self-sufficiency and reduce its waste and carbon emissions in the production process to near zero. The Forge will be centred around the ancient traditional metal working and the values that these ritualistic processes have on the individual. The new urban workshop will focus on the craft as therapy for the growing population of people who have been disarmed of their creative ability as a result of their mental health.