Mark Meier is a lecturer II in architecture in the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. He combines his passion for art and computer programming to create furniture, sculptures, and ceramics. Meier’s design practice revolves around digital fabrication, scripted geometric modeling, furniture fabrication, and digital sculpting. He has built around 60 pieces of furniture in the past 20 years and hundreds of ceramic pieces in the past five years. Meier enjoys generating 3D form in the computer and programming 3D geometry. He is particularly interested in computational geometry and being able to generate form through code. Meier’s career path was influenced by Gary Yost, founder of the Yost Group, who recruited him away from a design firm to join his software development team. Meier’s favorite spot on campus is the Wave Field on North Campus, designed by Maya Lin.
Art Meets Technology: Mark Meier’s Passion for Digital Fabrication
Mark Meier, a lecturer II in architecture in the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, has always been fascinated by the process of creating art. His passion for experimentation and exploration has led him to build furniture, sculpt ceramics, and even explore digital means of creating art.
Meier’s design practice is centered around digital fabrication, scripted geometric modeling, furniture fabrication, and digital sculpting. He estimates he has built around 60 pieces of furniture in the last 20 years and hundreds of ceramic pieces in the last five years.
Meier’s interests in both creating art and computer programming come together in his work. He enjoys the process of generating 3D forms on the computer and was able to take classes in programming 3D geometry while at U-M.
Meier’s love for computational geometry and generating form through code led him to enroll at Taubman as a non-degree, non-credit student in 2010 to learn more about the Digital Fabrication Lab (FABLab), which he had learned about during an NPR interview with Karl Daubmann, the first director of the lab. Meier went on to complete a second master’s degree program in digital technology the following year and was eventually asked to join the faculty.
Meier’s passion for experimentation and exploration in art is what drives and inspires him. He once made a ceramic bust of his son when he was six years old but had to redo it because his son didn’t like the color of the surface he chose. This trial and error process is what motivates Meier and allows him to continually create new and innovative pieces of art.
Growing up in Bloomfield Hills, Meier was exposed to art classes at Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, which helped to shape his art background.
Mark Meier’s passion for digital fabrication and creating art is what drives him. His work in 3D geometry, programming, and creating furniture and ceramics has led him to become a valued member of the faculty at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Mark Meier: Combining Art and Technology
Mark Meier, a lecturer II in architecture in the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, has always been interested in art, with his childhood spent at Bloomfield Hills and taking classes at Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center shaping his art background.
Meier taught computer animation at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design in the early 1990s before working in architecture and computer animation software development. However, it was not until he learned about the FABLab that his passions could be combined.
Meier’s design practice is focused on digital fabrication, scripted geometric modeling, furniture fabrication, and digital sculpting. He has built different kinds of beds, tables, chairs, lamps, light fixtures, and ceramic cups, vases, and candlestick holders. Woodworking is his favorite, with walnut and white oak being his preferred types of wood.
One of Meier’s favorite pieces is a table he designed for his digital technology degree final project. The table features a curve called a torus knot and is actually 30 different parts that dovetail together to form a continuous loop. Meier used a five-axis router to cut parts that curve through space in a way that conventional woodworking cannot produce.
Meier’s interests in art and computer programming are combined in his work, with a particular interest in generating 3D forms on the computer. He enjoys computational geometry and generating form through code, with a focus on being able to drive machines to realize these forms.
Meier’s son has been the subject of some of his work, with one memorable piece being a bust of his son made of poplar from a 3D scan of his face that Meier took when his son was 11 years old. The process took around 40 hours, with the machine cutting the wood and Meier sanding and smoothing the bust by hand.
Meier’s passion for combining art and technology has allowed him to explore and experiment with different mediums, from woodworking to ceramics. He believes that the process of trial and error is what motivates him and allows him to create new and innovative pieces of art.
Mark Meier: On Inspiration and Pursuing Interests
Mark Meier, lecturer II in architecture in the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, finds inspiration in the work of artists who create pieces that have a loose feel yet still possess that elusive “it” factor that makes them seem exactly right.
Meier’s career path was heavily influenced by Gary Yost, founder of the Yost Group, which developed the computer animation software 3ds max. Meier took a risk and left his job at a design firm to join Yost’s software development team, which showed him the rewards of pursuing his interests throughout his career.
In addition to his work in architecture, Meier has pursued his interests in ceramics and woodworking, taking the time to teach himself these skills and incorporate them into his design practice.
Meier’s favorite spot on campus is the Wave Field on North Campus, designed by Maya Lin. He is currently reading “Too Big for a Single Mind” by Tobias Hurter.
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