Is conventional knowledge enough? Playing the devil's advocate in the adoption of digital fabrication technology

Building on the research on the industrial potential of digital fabrication technologies commenced by the late University of Melbourne academic, Professor Bharat Dave, this paper explores actual patterns of technological adoption within communities of practice bound together in a few selected projects. Its main aim is three-fold: 1) highlight the distribution of knowledge required for the actual takeup of digital technologies; 2) look for the presence of possible gaps in such work landscapes; and 3) discuss the transformations that may occur in practice as a result of the conflation of innovative technologies and established professional cultures. The research being reported in this paper examines the socio-technical environment of the projects selected and the challenges intrinsic to the introduction of innovative digital technologies. Its findings suggest that the inherent complexity of building production needs to be considered in a far more nuanced and substantive manner than generally assumed by mainstream technological positivism.