Moving to a fi ner grain than structure reveals a myriad of activity in kinetic screens.
This review of contemporary activity is organized in terms of kinetic type – transla-tion, rotation and scaling – with projects again being selected on the basis of the potential for kinetic composition. While sash and roller mechanisms have been available for centuries to activate external screens, it has been diffi cult to locate contemporary examples of translational movement, considered in terms of kinetic composition.
One example from academia is a student project that allows horizontal and vertical translation, illustrated in Figure 2.3.10 Rectangular panels are intended to be operated by a wire and pulley system, allowing translation in two axes. This allows consistent horizontal or vertical movement, or a sequential stacking kinetic.
Figure 2.4 illustrates an alternate stacking composition as evident in the design for a small showroom, Kiefer Technic. The kinetic is one of vertical translation incorpo-rated with a folding joint that also enables a scaling effect. When activated along the facade, this allows a range of vertical compositional patterns of translation and scaling. The system is computer controlled, allowing multiple permutations of the vertical ‘stacking’ motion.
In contrast to translation, there are a large number of projects that use rotation, in particular those that use adjustable louvers to provide dynamic
Figure 2.3 Analytical drawings of screen translations based on a student project undertaken at the California Polytechnic, 2002
Figure 2.4 Analytical drawings of screen translations based on Kiefer Technic showroom designed by Ernst Giselbrecht and Partner, Bad Gleichenberg, Austria, 2010
sunscreening. However, these are generally conceived as functional panels within the overall facade, with minimal evidence of kinetic composition.11 The kinetics is typically a uniform and regular adjustment of each bay in relation to sun position.
Examples of different approaches to rotational screens include: horizon-tal orientation as in the case of the Nordic Embassies at Berlin, where each panel is individually controlled and able to be rotated through 90 degrees (Figure 2.5);
vertically, as in the example of the Malvern Hills Science Park in the UK, where large fi ns rotate slowly through the day to track the movement of the sun using thermo-hydraulic drives12 (Figure 2.6); and a student competition entry that explores rotational movement in all three axes, which enables two-dimensional patterns, oblique compositions, or can be folded back into horizontal or vertical planes minimiz-ing impact on views out (Figure 2.7).13
Figure 2.8 illustrates the ‘wave wall’, a unique project designed for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in Pasadena, California.
Rectilinear aluminum sections are suspended on low-friction bearings at their centre of gravity, with each section having an electromagnet embedded in the ends, so that movement of the singular is transferred to adjacent members. Motion is depend-ent on wind but can also be instigated or dampened by controlling the strength of the magnets. This project was conceived within the practice of science museums commissioning installations to demonstrate physical behaviour, in this case wave Figure 2.5
Analytical drawings of perimeter wall to Nordic Embassies, Berlin, designed by Berger and Parkkinen, 1999
Figure 2.6 Analytical drawings of Malvern Hills Science Park, UK, designed by Rubicon Design, 2008
Part I
18
Figure 2.7 Analytical drawings of student project, by Andreas Chadzis, 2005
Figure 2.9 Analytical drawings of kinetic wall sculpture Battleship, by Anthony Howe, 2006 Figure 2.8 Analytical drawings of LIGO Science Education Center, Livingston, Louisiana, designed by Eskew, Dumez and Ripple, 2006
motion. The educational context has enabled the deliberate investigation of pat-terns related to electromagnetic fi elds, and as realized provides a glimpse of the aesthetic potential of large-scale architectural screens. Completing this sampling of rotational screens is a unique example of a double rotation, the kinetic wall sculpture Battleship, by Anthony Howe. As illustrated in Figure 2.9, circular discs are able to rotate in the x and y axes simultaneously.
Compared to rotation, there are relatively few examples based on a scal-ing transformation. Most examples of expansion and contraction are found in elastic membranes. Typically, these operate at the scale of pneumatic structures, such as the previous Hyperbody example, or at the scale of a kinetic relief.
As an example of a pneumatic facade, a student project undertaken at the University of Melbourne is illustrated in Figure 2.10. Pneumatic ellipses are individu-ally controlled and infl ate to create a variable quilted sunscreen, which potentiindividu-ally allows a wide range of kinetic patterns based on expansion and contraction.
The Institut du Monde Arabe is perhaps the most famous example of a kinetic facade, and represents a particular scaling kinetic. The south facade is composed as a 24 × 10 grid of square bays. Each bay consists of a central circular shutter set within a grid of smaller shutters, referencing the geometry of traditional Arab screens. In this example, the kinetic defi nition becomes somewhat ambiguous, as the actual movement is one of rotation of fl at sheets over each other, similar to the mechanism of a camera lense. But as the planar rotation is perpendicular to the facade, the kinetic is perceived as a radial scaling kinetic. The expanse of the facade allows for multiple kinetic reading: the kinetic within each bay is one of simple multi-ple contraction and expansion; while as each bay is individually controlled, the overall composition allows a rich tapestry of kinetic oscillation between bays.
Figure 2.10 Analytical drawing of project by Ho Sun for a pneumatic
‘quilted’ facade, University of Melbourne, 2007
Figure 2.11 Analytical drawing of Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, by Jean Nouvel, 1987
Part I
20
Surface
The operable surface has the longest kinetic pedigree in architecture, with perhaps the fi rst instance being that of a tent fl ap, which through the most minimal of means allows a viewing function, physical access, air movement and the penetration of light.
Operable surface has been theorized in Surface Architecture by Leatherbarrow and Mostafavi, which traces the development of what the authors term the ‘temporal operation’ of the building facade.14 Any building with operable windows or doors can be considered in this light, but the emphasis here is on locating contemporary exam-ples that go beyond the commonplace. The design of Auroa Place by Renzo Piano is cited as an explicit example of an operable surface.15 In this commercial high-rise project there is a typical planar curtain wall glazing, but unusually for such a building type, there are automated operable windows. These have horizontal proportions and are operated as vertical groups of three, with opening mechanism, drive gear and rods articulated on the external skin. The kinetic operation is purely functional, but the incremental movement enabled by the fi nely calibrated mechanisms goes beyond the typical engineering solutions to enable a subtle kinetic interplay along the facade.
Another example of an operable surface that goes beyond the pragmatic is the storefront for Art and Architecture, an early work by Stephen Holl. It was con-ceived when he was particularly interested in proportional systems, and the project has been described in these terms.16 The explicit transformation of external wall using a kinetic composition has not been repeated in subsequent projects, although the use of asymmetrically stepped openings is a Holl signature. This small project has become a New York landmark, with the confi guration of the openings being mapped to the temporal scale of daily changes in weather and the longer scale of exhibition turnover.17
A second area of kinetic surface is that operating as relief, a term gener-ally used in relation to sculpture, where a three-dimensional form is contiguous with a surface.18 The most well-known kinetic relief in architecture is the iconic Aegis Hyposurface, designed by dECOi architects led by Mark Goulthorpe.19 The project was initially conceived in relation to a specifi c site, but has since been developed as a ten by three metre prototype. The original computer visualization presented the relief as a smoothly undulating surface, but the prototype was eventually realized
Figure 2.12 Analytical drawing of Aegis Hyposurface by dECOi, Birmingham, UK, 1999–2001
as a triangulated mechanism. Capable of producing abstract or fi gurative relief, the primary constraint is the dimensions of the metal plates, which determine the level of resolution and degree of curvature possible. As will be examined in the next section, the Aegis was informed by a particular approach to composition that speculated on abstract ‘alphabets’ of movement pattern. Unfortunately, this potential has not being fully realized, but the project has stimulated a succession of architectural projects that explore similar approaches to generating kinetic relief. There are a number of elastic membranes that enable smooth undulation, producing the most contiguous relief surfaces. For example, as illustrated in Figure 2.13, Dynamic Terrain consists of a thick cast-rubber membrane that is pushed and pulled by mechanical pistons to produce undulating form. Designed as a free-standing art piece, the compositional effect is determined by the scale of the actuators. In this case a furniture scale defor-mation occurs, but in principle the systems can be scaled up or down to produce a range of undulating surface patterns.
The majority of the relief prototypes have been developed and fabricated in academic research institutions, but recently a commercial product has become available. As illustrated in Figure 2.14, Flare is a three-dimensional relief based on an effi cient geometric design, in which an obliquely faceted ‘fl ake’ is rotated from one fi xed edge. Differing combination of the oblique angles of adjacent fl akes produces a remarkable range of effects, given the actual movement is in only one axis.
Figure 2.13 Analytical drawing of Dynamic Terrain, by Janis Pönisch, Amsterdam, 2006
Figure 2.14 Analytical drawing of Flare facade prototype by WHITEVoid, Berlin, 2008
Part I
22
Another elegant example of animated relief is the work of Ned Kahn, who has been working with a system of small metallic discs, hinged in a wire grid to produce a kinetic relief responsive to wind. Reminiscent of 1950s advertising displays, Kahn’s wind walls have been implemented at extremely large scale, and from a distance the wind-activated disks produce fl uid multidirectional patterns of movement similar to a water surface.20 An alternative approach to a continuous sur-face is to use an array of vertical rods or fi bres to create ‘hair-like’ relief. For example, Mitchell Joachim has developed the Super Cilia Surface in collaboration with the MIT tangible interface research group; while the Kinetic Design Group,21 also at MIT, have produced a prototype that, as illustrated in Figure 2.15, uses a similar tactic based on sparsely distributed fl exible rods.
In addition to triangulated, pneumatic and fi brous approaches, there are examples of spatial deformation through controllable variance in material property.
There has been much speculation on the possibilities for nanotechnology in archi-tecture, but at present, apart from self-cleaning surfaces, there have been minimal applications.22 One type of material change currently available is that enabled by shape memory alloys in conjunction with tensile skins.23 There are a number of approaches being researched. Benjamin and Yang embed shape memory alloys in a fl exible skin to achieve gill-like apertures. In this case, shape memory alloy wire embedded in fl exible silicon expands to create the apertures. In another example Pavel Hladik uses a three-dimensional structural frame that expands and contracts
Figure 2.15 Analytical drawing of responsive awning by MIT Kinetic Design Group, Boston, 2000–2002
Figure 2.16 Analytical drawing of responsive timber surface by Ocean North, London, 2008
to create an undulating surface.24 Shape memory alloy is formed into a space frame when in a ‘hot’ state, and, when cool, collapses to a relatively fl at mesh. The design group Ocean North has undertaken an innovative project that exploits the material properties of wood to expand and contract in relation to humidity.25 Key param-eters of wood fi bre orientation, geometry of the component and fi xing position, determine kinetic direction and curvature. As illustrated in Figure 2.16, the subtle material differences in grain and density results in a regular overall movement, but with individual variation between the degree of curling movement, producing a slow motion, variegated kinetic.