Time Enhanced Architectural Modelling (T.E.A.M.): Virtual reality project for the planning and visualization of kinetic architecture and dynamic design

T.E.A.M. is a research project that was created to facilitate the design of kinetic projects and components created through a computational design process. Time is the ingredient that allows dynamism. The following paper examines the core features of Platform One, an experimental digital application born within the project and aimed at supporting designers during the development, in a VE (Virtual Environment) of dynamic architectures and components, as well as the principles that inspired it. The application presents two key features: the first one is that everything modified and developed in the VE retains its geometric characteristics, allowing the user to reach an informed 3D model at the end of the process; the second one is the ease and enjoyment with which the user manipulates complex dynamic geometries in the three-dimensional environment through a natural interface design approach that focuses on direct manipulation of architectural objects and components. The simulator is designed to be used in a 6DOF virtual environment using a commercial VR headset. It has currently been loaded with several archetypal test architectures and soon it will be available to designers who want to test their work with it.

Allotropic Fields - On Architectural Kinetics & Biodynamic Assemblies

Through the recent prevalence of interdisciplinary design, kinetic architecture has aligned its modalities with those of biological paradigms. Homologous to transformative architecture, biological organisms exemplify a propensity for adaptation by virtue of kinetic means. Along these lines, the institution of kinetic architecture, hitherto delineated by hard mechanical means, is transitioning to soft, polymeric material systems analogous to homeostatic mechanisms. While this signals the beginning of a paradigmatic shift, architectural kinetics – nascent by its own right - finds itself only in the incipient stages of establishing a framework rooted in the operative analogies of dynamic biological behavior. With the intent of furthering this burgeoning discourse, this thesis explores the interface between mechanisms of biological adaptation and architectural kinetics in order to cultivate new transposition strategies and, in turn, develop an architectural prototype embodying novel manifestations of kinetic complexity and dynamism.

Allotropic Fields - On Architectural Kinetics & Biodynamic Assemblies

Through the recent prevalence of interdisciplinary design, kinetic architecture has aligned its modalities with those of biological paradigms. Homologous to transformative architecture, biological organisms exemplify a propensity for adaptation by virtue of kinetic means. Along these lines, the institution of kinetic architecture, hitherto delineated by hard mechanical means, is transitioning to soft, polymeric material systems analogous to homeostatic mechanisms. While this signals the beginning of a paradigmatic shift, architectural kinetics – nascent by its own right - finds itself only in the incipient stages of establishing a framework rooted in the operative analogies of dynamic biological behavior. With the intent of furthering this burgeoning discourse, this thesis explores the interface between mechanisms of biological adaptation and architectural kinetics in order to cultivate new transposition strategies and, in turn, develop an architectural prototype embodying novel manifestations of kinetic complexity and dynamism.

Characterizing Smart Environments as Interactive and Collective Platforms: A Review of the Key Behaviors of Responsive Architecture

Since architect Nicholas Negroponte first proposed a vision of responsive architecture smart environments have been widely investigated, especially in the fields of computer science and engineering. Despite growing interest in the topic, a comprehensive review of research about smart environments from the architectural perspective is largely missing. In order to provide a formal understanding of smart environments in architecture, this paper conducts a systematic literature review of scholarly sources over the last decade, focusing on four related subjects: (1) responsive architecture, (2) kinetic architecture, (3) adaptive architecture and (4) intelligent buildings. Through this review, the paper identifies and examines interactive and collective behaviors in smart environments, thereby contributing to defining the properties of creative, smart spaces in the contemporary digital ecosystem. In addition, this research offers a means of systematically characterizing and constructing smart environments as interactive and collective platforms, enabling occupants to sense, experience and understand smart spaces.

A Comparative Study on Responsive Facade Systems

As the interaction between architecture and technology have increased, the technology changed the decisions made on the building designs. The developments in building technology, material sciences, engineering and robotics have opened up a new perspective in architecture leading to kinetic architecture. Among the examples of the kinetic architecture, responsive facades have become more significant in the last decades due the advantages they provide. Compared to the conventional façade systems, the responsive facades are multifunctional since they can reduce the building’s heating and cooling loads, control daylight transmission, allow natural ventilation and provide optimal indoor environment for the occupants. In recent years, various responsive facades have been realized in response to the changing environmental, functional or spatial conditions. Although they seem similar in terms of the functionality, their systems are different. This paper aims to propose a comparison matrix to analyse and compare such responsive facades systematically according to their system types, movements, functions, control systems, response time and visibility.

Effect of Text in Contemporary Architectural Formation (Kinetic Architecture as a Case Study)

Architecture is a language, and this means that we understand each phrase in a language or text in it, which is built in our architecture. Texts have richness and complexity, and the openness of the architectural text ahead of the act of interpretation, lead to social interaction. Where the text reads in terms of reference, structure, and philosophical vision, and its variables, and comparing it with kinetic architecture as a product of the relationship between human behavior and kinetic waves which have considered a real revolution in architectural thought, where has changed the path of the architecture, where it changed the path of the architecture that has seen from the perspective of persistence and physical and formal stability on the ground to the perspective of movement, dynamism and the formal and positional changes of the building. The role of the process (time) has a significant impact on the kinetic architecture through which the movement can be, and it is an essential element of the movement's principles and conditions in its contemporary architectural formations. So the research aims to statement of the relationship of the text of the concepts of the text to the concepts of the system of human actions in being and its content becoming and process, against the system of architectural acts in the components of the text (reference structure, and philosophical vision), and reflect this relationship on kinetic architecture as a contemporary architectural formation to know its relationship with the text and its components

Adaptive Kinetic Architecture and Collective Behavior: A Dynamic Analysis for Emergency Evacuation

Adaptive kinetic architecture has emerged from a need for innovative designs that adapt to the environment and changing needs of the occupants. Architectural design and modes of egress are critical in an emergency. Flocking describes a certain collective behavior where agents are brought together in groups and move as a cohesive unit from place to place. Collective behavior may be observed in microscopic as well as macroscopic environments. Crowd modeling incorporates the study of human behavior, mathematical modeling, and molecular or fluid dynamics. The simulation of agents and their movement in the built environment is beneficial for design professionals, scientists, and engineers. Human behavior in panic situations is notably similar to fluids and molecules. The objective of this research was to evaluate the movement of agents in buildings using discrete dynamic simulation. We used a novel discrete molecular dynamics technique to simulate the evacuation of agents in panic situations. Various adaptive geometric configurations were analyzed for improved crowd flow. Kinetic walls were modeled in order to evaluate design optimization as it relates to rates of egression. This research proposes the use of kinetic walls to improve safety and efficiency during an emergency evacuation. Adaptive geometric configurations show improvements over the conventional design framework.