Baukunst’s Post

Diana Lin is Partner at IP law firm Schox Patent Group and a friend of the collective. Schox is strategic, forward thinking, and truly acts as a thought partner for crafting IP strategy, vs. merely prosecuting patents. Diana consistently works at the bleeding edge of where technology is right now, to rethink strategies and understand how the world is changing. We were excited to speak with her to better understand “IP Strategies & Legal Frameworks for AI/ML” for Study Group 002, where she broke down the fundamentals of patent law, when and how to patent, and how AI itself is aiding in and challenging the filing process. "With IP, there must be success. Because otherwise, you've just donated your knowledge to the public domain...the best IP strategy is to patent what has 'high patentability' and 'high value'’. Stay tuned for the full report coming out later this summer where we’ll share more highlights and insights from our time with Diana.

With the opening of our own studio in San Francisco (opening party on Thursday July 25th, we'll see you there), we're thinking quite a bit about space as an activating force for community. One early source of inspiration in this regard is late artist Gordon Matta-Clark. In the 60s and 70s, Manhattan's Soho neighborhood was a hub for many artists but essentially a food desert. Matta-Clark had an idea that was as much an art performance as it was a community project. In 1971, he launched the restaurant FOOD inside an old bodega on the corner of Wooster and Prince. FOOD quickly became a central spot for the art community, offering not only food but also a place for artists to meet and earn money while practicing their art. Matta-Clark, who was deeply interested in architecture, saw the restaurant as an activation of space in a neighborhood full of abandoned buildings. The space was highly experimental, offering dishes rarely seen at the time, like sushi, and avant-garde cooking, while also providing free meals to whoever needed them. Artist Laurie Anderson recalls, "Soho [in the 70s] was pitch black at night, there were two restaurants (‘Food’ and ‘Fanellis’) and one gallery (‘Paula Cooper Gallery’) … We were very aware that we were creating an entirely new scene (later known as ‘Downtown’). Gordon Matta-Clark was at the center of this scene." The project lasted in Soho for three years. Prior to its close, a renovation within the space inspired the "building cuts" series now synonymous with Matta-Clark's work. #CollectiveHistories #ArtHistory #GordonMattaClark #theartofbuilding (Research references: Tate.org "Eat, Live Work," Phaidon "Gordon Matta-Clark's art restaurant resurrected.")

When Baukunst is evaluating start up opportunities, we’re always looking for the really category defining companies that shake their industries and result in a *really* big valuation outcome. In a recent Study Group 002 session, the collective was engaged in conversation with Co-Founder and General Partner of Baukunst, Axel Bichara, on the “Biggest Business Opportunities for Startups: AI/Engineering”, debating AI as a feature versus creating fundamental platform shifts, the role of AI in manufacturing, and if AI could centralize current disparate programs in the process of DFM. “When Baukunst is evaluating start up opportunities, we’re always looking for the really category defining companies that shape their industries and have a chance to yield enterprise value creation in the $ billions.” Stay tuned for the full report coming out later this summer where we’ll share more highlights and insights from our time with Axel and the collective.

Big news: we’re opening a studio in Bernal Heights, San Francisco. We’d love to see you all on July 25th to celebrate this Baukunst collective milestone! Our studio will transform the long-vacant Bernal Heights Bank of America branch into a hub for creative technologists. All collective members will have access to the studio for collaborative work. In partnership with The McLuhan Institute we’ll also be launching The McLuhan Reading Room, featuring key texts for creative technologists. Founder of the McLuhan Institute Andrew McLuhan, media theorist Marshall McLuhan’s grandson, will be traveling from the Institute’s main library in Ontario to attend. RSVP now: https://lnkd.in/g4Ejng-u

In our latest Study Group, we're trying to understand how Al could change the future of CAD. There have been many advances in CAD since its implementation in the 90s, all of which have changed how we design, but also what we design. "In the early 90s, you had Volvo wagons that were boxy. Surfacing tools got better and then you end up with the 2002 Ford Taurus that looks like a frog." — Study Group Participant As generative Al is explored, the question remains: with CAD Al, in what direction are things heading? Where could it have huge impact in the world of CAD, and in turn, product development, manufacturing, etc? Here are some thoughts developed since Study Group began: 💡Could Al integration into CAD streamline manufacturing processes? 💡Could Al improve the decision making process in product development? 💡Could Al integration into CAD even afford us the ability to prototype at the speed of thought? These are the possibilities we aim to explore as a group. More exciting developments on what we've discovered within the CAD & Al Study Group to come - stay tuned.