Kinetic Facades

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Designing Kinetics for

Architectural Facades

Architecture has typically resisted kinetics, but with advances in dynamic screens and animated surface there are new opportunities for designers. This book examines the architectural facade, to identify a latent aesthetic within contemporary practice. How might precedent from architecture and the arts inform this new fi eld? What are the design parameters, when composition shifts from stasis to a state of constant fl ux? And given this liquidity, what are the distinctive contours of this new aesthetic?

These questions of precedent, design ontology and kinetic morphology are explored here in a strategic mix of theory and experiment. Analysis of architec-tural praxis intersects with discourse from kinetic art, to provide the conceptual spark for the study of ‘movement itself’. The potential is for the realization of indeterminate states, where parts coalesce, forming clusters and sublime patterns that resonate over time.

This is the fi rst book to articulate a framework for the design of kinetics developed from fi rst principles. Located between theory and practice, the analytical diagrams and time-lapse images provide a unique and timely resource for designers, theorists and students interested in the potential of kinetics to enliven the public face of architecture.

Jules Moloney is Associate Professor in Interdisciplinary Digital Design at the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research, creative practice and teaching span the fi elds of architecture, kinetic art and virtual environments.

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Designing Kinetics for

Architectural Facades

State change

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First published 2011 by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge

711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

The right of Jules Moloney to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered

trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Moloney, Jules.

Designing kinetics for architectural facades : state change / Jules Moloney. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Facades--Designs and plans. 2. Motion in architecture. 3. Architectural design. I. Title. II. Title: State change.

NA2941.M65 2011

729’.1--dc22 2010049566

ISBN: 978-0-415-61033-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-61034-6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-81470-3 (ebk)

This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.

To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.

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Illustration credits

All illustrations are original drawings and images produced solely by the author, or in collaboration with John Bleaney.

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Illustrations

1.1 Defi nition of kinetics as three spatial transformations and material

deformation 7 2.1 Analytical drawings of pneumatic structure prototypes developed by

the Hyberbody research group, TU Delft 14

2.2 Analytical drawing of adaptive shading for the Ciudad de Justicia,

Madrid, 2006–2011, by Hobermann Associates 15

2.3 Analytical drawings of screen translations based on a student project

undertaken at the California Polytechnic, 2002 16

2.4 Analytical drawings of screen translations based on Kiefer Technic showroom designed by Ernst Giselbrecht and Partner, Bad

Gleichenberg, Austria, 2010 16

2.5 Analytical drawings of perimeter wall to Nordic Embassies, Berlin,

designed by Berger and Parkkinen, 1999 17

2.6 Analytical drawings of Malvern Hills Science Park, UK, designed by

Rubicon Design, 2008 17

2.7 Analytical drawings of student project, by Andreas Chadzis, 2005 18 2.8 Analytical drawings of LIGO Science Education Center, Livingston,

Louisiana, designed by Eskew, Dumez and Ripple, 2006 18

2.9 Analytical drawings of kinetic wall sculpture Battleship, by Anthony

Howe, 2006 18

2.10 Analytical drawing of project by Ho Sun for a pneumatic ‘quilted’

facade, University of Melbourne, 2007 19

2.11 Analytical drawing of Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, by Jean

Nouvel, 1987 19

2.12 Analytical drawing of Aegis Hyposurface by dECOi, Birmingham, UK, 1999–2001 20 2.13 Analytical drawing of Dynamic Terrain, by Janis Pönisch, Amsterdam,

2006 21 2.14 Analytical drawing of Flare facade prototype by WHITEvoid, Berlin,

2008 21 2.15 Analytical drawing of responsive awning by MIT Kinetic Design

Group, Boston, 2000–2002 22

2.16 Analytical drawing of responsive timber surface by Ocean North,

London, 2008 22

2.17 Analytical drawing based on proposal for robotic ‘edge monkeys’, by

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2.18 Analytical drawing based on Digital Water Pavilion by MIT Media Lab

and Carlo Ratti Associati, Zaragoza, Spain, 2008 24

2.19 Analytical drawing based on Blur Building by Diller and Scofi dio,

Swiss national expo, Yverdon les-Bains, Switzerland, 2002 24 3.1 Diagram of catastrophe surface that shows control space, event

space, fold, and its projection as a cusp (the catastrophe set) 47 3.2 Diagrammatic drawing of an extension to Kaufmann’s three

compositional systems: (A) typical ‘ancient’ proportional system; (B) proportional system in tension with Baroque hierarchy of parts; (C) repetition and reverberation of eighteenth-century French rationalism; (D) neutral grid of the modernist curtain wall;

(E) graduated surface of contemporary fi eld-fi eld composition 50

4.1 The ship at sea (redrawn from George Rickey, 1963) 67

5.1 Diagram of design variables conceived as a planar continuum between two extremes. Location on the plane identifi es the zone of a design instance, but when mapped to time, multiple outcomes are

possible from the same combination of variables 82

5.2 Global design variables of temporal structure overlaid on a decision plane 88 5.3 Summative diagram of sampling, control and tectonic decision

planes. Specifi cation of variable continuum in combination with periodic structure and temporal scale produces design multiplicity

over time 89

6.1 Summative diagram of variables to be used for design experiments 98 6.2 Trials of different geometry undertaken as a pilot study. Hexagonal

parts provided the best mix of edge detection and shading depth for

motion detection 100

6.3 Summative diagram of 19 control scripts used for stage 2 102 7.1 Stage 1 animation study to determine singular and compound

kinetics. The seven kinetic types selected for the experiment are

annotated 107

7.2 Stage 2. TRANSLATION × 19 control types 108

7.3 Stage 2. ROTATION × 19 control types 109

7.4 Stage 2. SCALING × 19 control types 110

7.5 Stage 2. TWIST × 19 control types 111

7.6 Stage 2. ROLL × 19 control types 112

7.7 Stage 2. YAW × 19 control types 113

7.8 Stage 2. SPRING × 19 control types 114

7.9 Stage 3-A. Selected animations from intuitive experimentation with one representative kinetic type (rotation) and various amplitude- and

period-based arithmetic and geometric progressions 115

7.10 Stage 3-B. Selected animations from intuitive experimentation with one representative kinetic type (rotation) and various amplitude- and

period-based arithmetic and geometric progressions 116

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Illustrations

x

one representative kinetic type (rotation) and various periodic- and

noise-based scripts 117

7.12 Stage 3-D. Selected animations from intuitive experimentation with one representative kinetic type (rotation) and various periodic- and

noise-based scripts 118

7.13 Stage 3-E. Selected animations from intuitive experimentation with one representative kinetic type (rotation) and various noise-, cellular

automata- and fl ocking-based scripts 119

7.14 Illustration of range of patterns ascribed within sea pattern taxonomy 124 7.15 SWELL pattern generated by a radial geometric progression 125 7.16 SWELL pattern generated by a linear geometric progression 125

7.17 EDDY pattern generated by a geometric progression 125

7.18 WAVE pattern generated by a sine equation 126

7.19 WAVE pattern generated by a radial displacement 126

7.20 CHOP pattern generated by a prime number sequence 126

7.21 SWELL-EDDY pattern generated by a geometric progression 127 7.22 SWELL-WAVE pattern generated by a Perlin noise algorithm 127 7.23 SWELL-CHOP pattern generated by geometric progressions 127 7.24 SWELL-PEAK pattern generated by a life-like cellular automata 128

7.25 WAVE-EDDY pattern generated by geometric progressions 128

7.26 EDDY-CHOP pattern generated by geometric progressions 128

7.27 WAVE-CHOP pattern generated by geometric progressions 129

7.28 CHOP-PEAK pattern generated by a lattice noise algorithm 129 7.29 NON-ASCRIBED pattern generated by a Perlin noise algorithm 130 7.30 NON-ASCRIBED pattern generated by a day-night cellular automata 130 7.31 NON-ASCRIBED pattern generated by a life-like cellular automata 130 7.32 NON-ASCRIBED pattern generated by a fl ocking algorithm 131 8.1 Cloud formation photographed by the author; Metcalfe, Australia

2009 139 8.2 State change, identifi ed by distinctive shape and dynamic 141 8.3 WAVE STATE. The typical simple wave state is characterized by a

linear or curvilinear ridge of movement with a uniform and consistent dynamic. The example illustrates the case of a ridge with a regular

diagonal dynamic from bottom left to top right 143

8.4 FOLD STATE. The typical simple fold state is characterized by adjacent patches of movement, with a constant reconfi guration of boundaries that produces a typical interweaving or expansion/

contraction 143 8.5 FIELD STATE. The typical simple fi eld state is characterized by

fragmented movement of singular units, or small groups. The dynamic is inconsistent, irregular and multidirectional. The fragments of movement, as captured by the time-lapse image, are highlighted 144 8.6 STATE CHANGE. Illustration of kinetic pattern as a dynamic

morphology where there are three simple states of wave, fold and fi eld and typical intermediate state transitions – swell/stratify,

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aggregate/disintegrate, atomize/ribbon. The compound state

turbulence occurs when all simple states are present 144

8.7 WAVE-FIELD. The intermediate state between a wave and a fi eld typically has a balance of a ridge shapes and pockets of small irregular movement. The example illustrates the dissipation of a

wave ridge and atomization along the edges 145

8.8 WAVE-FOLD. As was regularly evidenced in the motion studies, the intermediate state between a wave and a fold is typically a swelling of a wave ridge shape. The case illustrated shows the intersection of two wave ridges and the forming of two adjacent patches of

movement typical of a fold state 145

8.9 FOLD-FIELD. The state between a fold and a fi eld is the most complex of the intermediate states. The example illustrates a movement pattern based on a fl ocking algorithm, where fi eld

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Foreword

Every age has its own architectural tropes: ‘national identity’ in the nineteenth cen-tury, ‘functionalism’ in the 1920s, ‘systems’ in the 1960s, etc. There are many tropes around today, of which ‘intelligent building’ is surely one of the most important and persistent. How can architecture become part of an increasingly responsive and changing social environment characterized by digital technology, global nomadism and ubiquitous consumption? Is it possible for buildings themselves to move and adapt in relation to natural or man-made parameters, and if so, how does this improve their performance or relevance? The problem however is that most of the rhetoric about ‘intelligent building’ has been confused and tendentious, at times almost deliberately empty-headed in its technological fi xation. What is needed is someone to examine the subject with a cool head and a subtler approach.

That is where this fascinating new book by Jules Moloney comes in. What he offers is a highly original and ambitious exploration of kinetic facades beyond the usual enabling technology, in order to focus on the potential for a literal poetics of movement for architecture. As such, the study uses the ‘decision plane’ of the facade – as Moloney states, a crucial manifestation of architectural design since the Renaissance – as its anchor. There are of course many ways in which architecture can be said to be kinetic, whether through material properties, patterns of use, mechanical elements, etc., and hence the book’s specifi c focus on facades – which can be interpreted either as intelligent environmental screens or as public commu-nication interfaces – provides a clear research agenda.

In terms of research methodology, the book is manifestly a hybrid form of research for design; in other words, a study that can help others to think more clearly about the kinetic facades they are designing. Moloney is neither an out-and-out theoretician nor an out-out-and-out designer, preferring to act as a negotiator between the two approaches. In this sense, his book can be analogized to one of the transition states between categories of kinetic movement that he discusses. The wide historical retrospective of theory and practice provides a scholarly overview, from which a highly original and productive tracing of ideas from kinetic art is under-taken. In particular the analysis of 1960s artist and theorist George Rickey offers an extremely convincing case for the uniqueness of designing ‘movement itself’, not least because the nautical metaphors used by Rickey tally with those of early cyberneticians (why there was an obsession with the transport mechanisms of early imperialism isn’t explored in this book, but might make for a fascinating post-colonial analysis). Also of great interest are the links to meteorological analysis, especially

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cloud formation; this too can be related back to maritime trade, and again suggests an intriguing research subject.

The second part of Moloney’s book explores a number of different ways of conceiving kinetic design for architectural facades. It distils the hitherto complex discussion down to three distinct kinetic forms – wave, fold and fi eld – and this design insight really comes to life when looking specifi cally at the aforementioned transitions, or ‘state changes’, which develop as interfaces between these three conditions. Anyone who is interested in the theoretical aspects of architectural tech-nology is bound to be stimulated by Moloney’s insights, which reveal him to be one of the most interesting fi gures in the global fi eld of digital architecture – and indeed possibly the only person as yet to make sense of the thorny area of kinetic design.

Professor Murray Fraser Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

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Acknowledgements

The substantial research for this book was undertaken as part of doctoral studies at the faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, Australia between 2006 and 2009. I am indebted to the supportive research culture there, in particular the mentorship of professors Bharat Dave and Tom Kvan. For the wider historical perspective that informs this study, I wish to acknowledge the impact and friendship of Dr Ross Jenner at the School of Architecture, University of Auckland. Ross provided the initial spark for the research into Italian Futurism, setting the trajectory towards the poetry of kinetics. I am also indebted to Professor Mark Burry at the Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory at RMIT University, for his continued friendship and support. Professor Murray Fraser at the Bartlett School of Architecture is acknowledged for his insightful comments on the doctoral submission that led to this book, and is warmly thanked for providing the foreword. There is also a generation of brilliant design students at both the University of Auckland and the University of Melbourne, who through design studios based around the temporal aspects of architecture, have allowed some of the ideas to fl y.

The computer programming that underpins the design experiments was undertaken in collaboration with Richard Penman, who showed much forti-tude in coping with the many changes that occurred during the process. Technical insight was also gratefully received from Dr Alan Dorin at Monash University. David Fairservice is thanked for his invaluable proof reading. The illustrations were undertaken in collaboration with John Bleaney, whose elegant eye has contributed signifi cantly to the production.

Ultimately, it is the love and humour shared with those closest that make everything possible. Thank you, Helen and Scarlett.

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Movement at

the periphery

A morphology of pattern for kinetic facades

Architecture has typically resisted kinetics, yet there is a poetics of movement emerging at the periphery. This book examines the zone between environment and interior, the architectural facade, in search of a latent aesthetic enabled by kinetics. What precedent might inform theory and practice? What actually is being designed, when the outcome is in constant fl ux? These questions reveal the relative develop-ment of kinetic design within architecture. The design of motion is typically outside architecture’s domain, and while there are many engaging technology prototypes, there is minimal ‘content’. By content I mean, for lack of a better phrase, kinetic composition. Composition is used here as a broad and open-ended term, allowing for directed and indeterminate approaches to the design of kinetics. The lack of content and the step outside the traditions of static form provide a challenge for this new fi eld of design research, as there is no coherent body of theory to reference, nor are there suffi cient designs to critique. This sparse landscape has led to the trajectory of this study, which undertakes a sectional slice through relevant theory, and uses this to inform the generation of ‘content’ in the abstract. The motivation is that of a designer, examining the lay of the land before traversing it. Through critique and experiment, the aim is to locate the contours of this new design space.

While there is an underlying poetic agenda, the inquiry has a succinct focus, which leads to a mode of design research bordering on the scientifi c. The approach is to examine the design of kinetics from the bottom up, to locate the vari-ous parameters that infl uence kinetic form, and through methodical indexing and intuitive experimentation, generate abstract studies of form in motion. This focus on the underlying structure of kinetics is accepted as being reductive, but a neces-sary fi rst move that fl oats above the contingency of technology, site and brief. The ideas here are developed outside the world of matter, to provide an abstract point of reference for those interested in the poetry of movement.

The scope of the search for kinetic form is encapsulated in the phrase

morphology of pattern for kinetic facades. Morphology is aligned with the manner in

which Philip Steadman speaks of essential forms1_{and its use by George Rickey in his}

Morphology of Movement.2_{Kinetics is defi ned as spatial transformation, with a clear} distinction being made in relation to several traditions of movement in architecture.

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Part I

4

Facade is positioned alongside other terminology such as envelope and skin, before distinguishing this research from kinetic structure and operable interiors. The fourth term, pattern, when considered in relation to kinetics for the particular context of a facade, is more diffi cult to defi ne at the onset. This emerges, through critique of precedent in the kinetic arts and when developing design variables, which are argued to be the most infl uential in its formation. Multiple permutations of kinetic pattern, as evident through close examination of animation experiments, provide further insight. The distinctive qualities of kinetic pattern for architectural facades, and the compositional potential these afford, are central themes that shape the inquiry.

Morphology

Morphology is typically associated with the fi eld of biology, and refers to the outward appearance and physical structure of an organism, as opposed to physiology, which primarily deals with functional processes.3_{The term has been used in architecture} in reference to urban morphology, and in design research on the geometry of plans. According to Batty, urban morphology developed around the establishment of the journal Environment and Planning B in 1973.4_{From the onset urban morphology has} concentrated on the underlying structure of urban form, primarily around the issue of accessibility. As proposed by Batty, the emphasis of contemporary research has shifted from the modelling of static structures to understanding the process by which they come about. The second strand of research within architecture which explicitly uses the term morphology is the analysis of building plans. As introduced by Philip Steadman in his book Architectural Morphology, the emphasis is on exploring the possible range of plan forms within geometric limits.

It is primarily concerned with the limits which geometry places on the possible forms and shapes which building and their plans may take. The use of the term ‘morphology’ alludes then to Goethe’s original notion, of a general science of possible forms, covering not just forms in nature, but forms in art, and especially the forms of architecture.5

Morphology for this design research is more aligned with Steadman’s exploration of possible forms than with urban morphology. Just as he explored the limits of planar confi guration, this research will undertake a study of kinetic composition. However, while there is similar intent, caution needs to be exercised in making a direct comparison, particularly in relation to methodology. Inspired by the projective drawing techniques of D’Arcy Thompson, Steadman uses a mathematical approach to defi ne rectilinear plan confi gurations. The possible range of plans is limited by ‘the underlying symmetry lattice or grid by which the pattern is organized’.6_Mathematics is also used to calculate room relationships using graph theory.7_{Steadman explores} morphology as a form of design science, literally calculating possible combinations of rooms within geometric limits. These techniques are not considered to be directly applicable to the orientation of this inquiry, which embraces a more liquid approach to morphogenesis. The emphasis here is on locating the underlying parameters that determine kinetics, and using these in an open-ended design experiment to produce

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a series of animation studies. Close scrutiny of the animations identifi es consistent types of resonance that occur when manipulating design variables. This location of typical thickenings in the multiplicity of possible form, provides a slice through the new space of possibility afforded by kinetics.

While this research does not utilize Steadman’s mathematical analysis and is deliberately open ended rather then defi nitive in its aspirations, one technical aspect of his approach is adopted. In a careful introduction to his book, he makes the case for the dimensionless representation of plans.8_{His argument is that} con-fi gurations of possible types are best considered in terms of abstract geometric relationships, rather than the dimensions of the spaces. Nor is the physical thickness or materiality of walls considered. For Steadman, morphology is a study of geometric relationships independent of scale or materiality. In a similar manner, the dimensions of kinetic parts or the overall size of a facade are not crucial to the morphology of kinetic pattern. The focus of this study of morphology is on the confi guration of geometric transformation in space, the underlying structure of kinetic formation, independent of physical scale or materiality.

A second relevant source for morphology is found in the kinetic arts. Towards the end of an essay titled The Morphology of Movement, artist and theorist George Rickey discusses the situation of kinetics as a new genre, in which there was a lack of signifi cant forms, around which practice could reference and develop. Writing in 1963, Rickey articulates the need for an understanding of the range of forms for the new fi eld of kinetic art. He argues that form ‘is without immediate aes-thetic or quality implications’,9_{and it is in this context that Rickey attempts to outline} the essential forms of movement, or the term he uses for his essay, morphology. The question posed by Rickey for kinetic art can be repeated for the emerging practice of kinetic facades. What are the signifi cant forms, independent of value appraisals or production context, and what is the theoretical range around which practice can reference and develop? Steadman shares a similar aspiration for the theoretical range of geometric plan types, independent of production context or value appraisal.

’Morphology’ is the word which Goethe coined to signify a universal sci-ence of spatial form and structure. Goethe’s method in botany, where his fi rst morphological interests lay, was intended not just to provide abstract representations, and a classifi cation, of the variety of existing plants, but to extrapolate beyond these and to show how recombination of the basic elements of plant form could create theoretical species unknown to nature.10

It is with a similar intent that morphology underpins this research. Through abstract representations and the recombination of basic elements of kinetics, the aspiration is to locate the theoretical range of kinetic form, extrapolating beyond contemporary practice and historical precedent.

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Part I

6

Kinetics

A clear distinction needs to be made between kinetics and other approaches to designing for movement and time. Typically, architectural theory and practice have engaged with movement in terms of:

• transformation through the event of occupation • physical movement of the occupant

• a sense of movement due to the optical effects of changes in light or the pres-ence of moisture

• the weathering of materials and effects of decay

• the representation of movement through form and surfaces that appear dynamic • design methods that use geometric transformations or other animation

techniques.

Each of these modes is outlined below, with the observation that many are inherent capacities of architecture, or constitute design approaches that have been exploited throughout history. The section concludes with a defi nition of kinetics, which focuses the scope of this research to areas outside these typical approaches to considering movement in architecture.

The fi rst mode – change due to the event of occupation – is relatively self-evident, but has been articulated most clearly in Bernard Tschumi’s thesis that architecture acts as a frame for ‘constructed situations’.11_{For example, his 1989} Bibliothèque de France competition entry crossed sports and library programmes to alter the architectural experience. Here the building itself is typically inert, but with architectural ‘movement’ occurring due to indeterminate programmatic encounters. The building is transformed over time by the event of occupation, to create both literal movement in terms of occupancy and activity, but also movement in terms of the perception of the architecture – the stadium empty, for example, versus the stadium heaving with spectators. This capacity is inherent in all architecture but, as articulated by Tschumi, can be deliberately exploited to place architecture in a constant state of occupational fl ux.

The second tradition of movement is also inherent: architecture is experi-enced by the body in motion and through vision that is constantly shifting focus. The seminal essay, ‘A picturesque stroll around Clara-Clara’, traces a genealogy of the peripatetic view, from the Greek revival theories of Leroy, the multiple perspective of Piranesi, Boulee’s understanding of the effect of movement, to the Villa Savoye where architecture is best appreciated, according to Le Corbusier, ‘on the move’.12 This type of movement is reliant on the mobility of the surveyor in relation to typi-cally inert form. The third mode occurs where perception of static surface, form and space is altered by changing environmental conditions. In this case, buildings can be designed to accentuate visual transformation in response to different light intensity and direction, the presence of moisture, and wind conditions.13

At a completely different order of time is the ageing of materials. Patina is typically resisted by contemporary forms of construction, but as explored in On

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in deformation over time.14_{A fi fth mode of engagement with the theme of} move-ment has its origins in the early twentieth century – the representation of motion through dynamic form. With links to Italian Futurism and German Expressionism, buildings such as Mendelsohn’s Einstein Tower appear as if they are in motion, with streamlined profi les and smooth uninterrupted surfaces.15_{A more recent} digital engagement in relation to movement and time in architecture has developed around tactics of geometric transformation, as used in design process. As explored by Terzidis, this has origins in constructivism.16_{He argues that the computer extends} this agenda by facilitating the animation of geometry, such as the sweeping of sectional profi les along paths.17_{While his study of kinetics utilizes similar tactics of} geometric transformation to those explored here, there is a fundamental difference. For the design of static architecture, geometric transformation is a design method, with the ultimate goal of locating one frozen moment. For kinetic facades, there is no singular moment in time. The design outcome is shifting patterns of geometry in a constant state of fl ux.

While acknowledging the ongoing relevance of the above approaches for architecture, the focus here is on the implications for design when kinetics is defi ned in spatial terms. As illustrated in Figure 1.1, this includes movement through three geometric transformations in space – translation, rotation, scaling – and movement via material deformation.

Translation describes movement of a component in a consistent planar direction; rotation allows movement of an object around any axis; while scaling describes expansion or contraction in size. These are the basic building blocks of kinetics, which are combined to produce more complex motion, such as a directional twist or roll. The fourth aspect of the defi nition considers the micro-scale, where manipulation of material properties, such as mass or elasticity, allows incremen-tal deformation. This concentration on transformation and deformation in spatial terms allows a distinction between kinetics and what have become known as media facades.18_{The incorporation of motion graphics via projection screens, LEDs} or visual effects generated by lighting a facade, are not included in the scope of this research.

Figure 1.1

Defi nition of kinetics as three spatial transformations and material deformation

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Part I

8

Facade

There are a number of terms to describe the zone between architectural exterior and interior: envelope is a generic term that describes the total enclosure of a building;

wall was traditionally used to describe a vertical load-bearing construction; the term curtain wall appears in the early twentieth century to distinguish a non-load-bearing

construction;19_{skin was initially coined to continue the distinction between cladding} and the structural ‘bones’ of a wall but has more recently been associated with conceiving the envelope as an intelligent environmental system;20_{while facade still} retains an association with wall as the site of urban composition. As observed by Neumeyer, the urban facade has, since the Renaissance, been considered in terms of a vertical plane of composition.

Since the discovery of central perspective in the Renaissance the surface has been seen as a transparent plane cut by the optical pyramid. From then onwards the urban façade also worked on a projection principle that sees the surface as the spatial breeding-ground for its art of layering. This explains or transfi gures the depth links and creates a play of fi gure and ground that brings living and three dimensional form into life on the surface.21

It is this context, and in relation to the previous discussion of morphology, that facade is utilized for this research. Facade defi nes a generally vertical plane of abstract com-position, as observed externally. As well as articulating the research limits in terms of a more or less vertical plane, facade allows a distinction between kinetics that operate at a larger scale such as kinetic structures, or the kinetic reconfi guration of internal spaces. As will be evident in the discussion of kinetics in architecture under-taken in Chapter 2, there is a large body of work concerned with kinetic structure. For this study a facade as a whole is considered to be static, within which parts are in motion. This scalar differentiation excludes proposals for re-locatable buildings such as those envisioned by the Archigram group, or the genre of revolving architecture.22 A second distinction that facade allows is between kinetics operating on the exter-nal perimeter, and the large body of work on reconfi gurable spaces and interactive rooms. This excludes, for example, projects such as the Fun Palace proposed by Cedric Price,23_{or contemporary research on intelligent rooms.}24

The potential of kinetics

The careful scope articulated above provides a necessary focus on the emergent fi eld of kinetic design. Typically, the compositional potential of kinetics is obliquely referred to within discussion of interactive or refl exive architecture. For many in the architectural mainstream, kinetics is dismissed as irrelevant or a distracting novelty. According to Ingraham, the tension between stasis and movement is even thought to be the origin of a certain lament within architectural history.25_{There is clearly some} kinetic resonance within architecture’s oeuvre and this informs some of the proposi-tions developed here. However, it is argued that kinetics opens up a specifi c fi eld of design research and, as a way to engage with this specifi city, the approach taken here is to examine the underlying design parameters. This is, in part, contingent, as

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there are not enough examples of realized kinetic facades. The reduction of design to abstract diagram is also a deliberate tactic, enabling a focus on morphology inde-pendent of scale or materiality. It is anticipated that by undertaking a close study of kinetic diagrams, some progress can be made towards understanding the potential for a kinetic enlivening of the public face of architecture.

Within the scope of this study there are two primary areas of activity: intelligent and media facades. As evidenced by intelligent facades, the possibilities are for a responsive membrane that adapts to changing environmental conditions and user occupancy, continuing the trajectory of functionalism.26_{Media facades, by} contrast, use technology to realize facades as information screens or artworks at an urban scale. Facades are being recast as a zone of interactivity, with the potential to engage users with dynamic information displays or to embed abstract artworks. Regardless of the design intent, the emerging fi eld of kinetic facades offers the chal-lenge of developing a sophisticated approach to the design of movement. Through the lens of morphology, this book explores the possibilities of kinetic composition afforded by facades in motion.

As evidenced by contemporary practice, while there is technical innova-tion there is minimal discussion of the design of ‘movement itself’.27_{This term,} which has its origins in the 1920 realist manifesto and subsequent development of kinetic art as a specifi c practice, highlights the opportunity and challenge for architec-ture. There is the capacity to develop new compositional approaches based on the design of movement, but minimal work on which to build understanding and trigger the exploration of kinetic form. This research engages with this potential through studying the morphology of kinetic pattern. Three interrelated questions shape the trajectory of the inquiry:

• How may design variables that infl uence pattern be conceived? • What is the theoretical range of kinetic form?

• What nomenclature robustly describes the morphology of pattern?

Aspirations

Kinetic design emerges from the trajectory of the modernist free facade and the following chapters trace the escape from traditions of part to whole composition, to fi elds of pattern enabled by the curtain wall. These fi eld tactics are shown to intersect with the digital granularity of contemporary parametric design, with the glimpses of kinetics afforded by contemporary experiments, suggesting the liquid potential of the free facade in motion. This new design space is explored from the position of morphology. A focus on the underlying parameters, which interact to produce shifting intensities of kinetic pattern, emphasizes the shift that is required when designing. The outcome of kinetic design is not a singular form, but a process from which a range of forms manifest over time. This requires designers to consider the design of control system and data input, as well as the design of the physical components. It is anticipated that the conceptual model developed in the following pages can assist designers and theorists to locate the multiple variables that infl uence kinetic composition. Through methodical indexing and intuitive exploration, an instance of

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Part I

10

these variables is used here to shape design experiments. These experiments result in abstract patterns, visualized orthogonally through the abstraction of animation software, deliberately presented as low-resolution images that map out a range of design patterns to document an initial set of visual references.

The animations clearly do not capture the phenomenology of architectural experience. The register of the mobile surveyor and experiential affect is, for now, put to one side. The experiments are more usefully considered diagrams of pos-sibility, where design variables are mapped to generate animation patterns. Having produced numerous permutations, their analysis allows identifi cation of difference by degree and kind, enabling the development of a nomenclature. It is anticipated that other designers will adapt and refi ne the approach developed here, as suits their specifi c agenda. For a design language to be productive, it should be accurate but also evocative and extendable. In part this research is inspired by the work of George Rickey, who, in 1963, articulated a vocabulary of motion for the emerging fi eld of kinetic art. Building on this precedent, the basic forms of kinetics are developed for the particular case of kinetic facades. The aspiration is to provide a reference for other design researchers to adopt, critique, adapt, or extend in relation to personal design agendas and the particular context in which they are operating.

Any particular instance of movement takes place in its own time and becomes, for the artist, what a colour or a shape is to the painter. The basic movements are surprisingly few and surprisingly simple. Western music has twelve tones. Kinetic art has scarcely more. Its gamut of movements must, of course, be within the range of human perception, just as the painter is limited to the visible spectrum, and they must be within the artist’s capacity to control. Few though they be, they offer themselves, just as visible colours do, for an almost infi nite range of variation, permutation, and combination.28

Tactics

The book is organized in two parts. In the fi rst, a critique of theory and practice is undertaken, locating and clarifying the research agenda. From the articulation of the research scope in this opening chapter, the following two chapters are a refl ective account of contemporary activity, and sources from architectural history. These pro-vide snapshots of relevant projects and discourse, with the pragmatic objective of locating precedent that may inform this research into kinetic morphology. Chapter 4 extends the search to what is argued to be the most relevant source outside archi-tecture, kinetic art. This is examined through seminal sources from theorists and practitioners who explore the art of movement. The overall aim of Part I is to ground the inquiry in a specifi c fi eld of knowledge. The shift from current experimentation to the wider context of architecture, and outside to the aligned practice of kinetic art, locates strategic moments. What fl ickers into focus are glimpses of sublime form and lines of thought that resonate with kinetic facades. From these, the distinction between kinetic art and the specifi city of architectural facades enables a working defi nition of kinetic pattern to be developed.

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The second part of the book builds on the critique of Part I to inform a more direct mode of design research. In Chapter 5, a model for conceiving the variables that infl uence kinetic pattern is developed. Using insight from theory and practice, design variables are visualized as three interrelated planes of activity. Each is considered, and through argument and example, the variables that have a direct infl uence on morphology are articulated. In Chapter 6, an instance of this generic framework is examined at a closer grain, to frame a series of design experiments. Not all variables are considered to be equally infl uential on morphology, and a select set, or instance of these, is articulated. These variables are used to specify a comprehensive algorithmic code that enables a series of animations to be quickly generated and reviewed. Through subsequent variable ‘tweaking’, the subtleties of kinetic formation are explored in a more intuitive manner. The fi nal two chapters analyze these animations and develop a nomenclature for describing the morphology of kinetic pattern. This is undertaken by the proposition of a provisional taxonomy, a fi ne-grained classifi cation developed from precedent in kinetic art. This is used speculatively, as a heuristic device to undertake the identifi cation of pattern range. In turn, the robustness of this classical approach to classifi cation is evaluated, and found to be problematic. From discussion of the outcomes and using insight from On the

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Kinetic precedent

Contemporary practice

The number of publications, blogs and projects indicate an increasing contemporary interest in architectural kinetics, which follows – after a signifi cant gap – a similar fl urry of design experimentation undertaken in the 1970s. How has the current gen-eration of designers considered the opportunities of kinetics? Despite the large body of material, the emphasis here on composition and facade enables the undertaking of a directed slice through current activity to address this question. As evidenced by a recent survey, Interactive Architecture by Fox and Kemp, the majority of activity is generally concerned with the functional possibilities and enabling technology, rather than investigation of kinetics per se. Fox and Kemp present a comprehensive over-view of current interactive architecture (including kinetic facades), through a simple distinction between ‘ways and means’. That is, the multiple ways in which kinetics are manifest, ‘folding, sliding, expanding, shrinking and transforming’ and the means by which kinetics is realized – the apparatus, ranging from mechanical to chemical technology.1_{The questions that drive this study are more to do with affordance and} potential. What range of kinetic composition do the kinetic types afford? How have designers exploited this potential?

As a framework to examine contemporary activity, an approach devel-oped from a recent study of contemporary facades, The Function of Ornament, will be used. In that publication, case studies were considered in terms of sectional depth, differentiating between structure, screen and surface.2_{This approach is} extended here by overlaying spatial kinetic as defi ned in the previous chapter. That is, structure, screen and surface are subdivided according to translation, rotation and scaling, and, where appropriate, material deformation. The scan through con-temporary activity will be selective, identifying key examples and examining the compositional aspects evident or afforded by the project. This starts with the largest scale, that of kinetic structure. It then proceeds to examine in turn the intermediate scale of kinetic screens, the fi ne granularity of surface relief and concludes with other examples at the limits of the research scope.

Operable structure

Fox provides a taxonomy of kinetic structure, which distinguishes between embed-ded, deployable and dynamic confi gurations.3_{The emphasis here on facade excludes} embedded structure (structural kinetics at the scale of the complete building, such as earthquake dampening), and deployable structures (where a building can be

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Part I

14

physically relocated). Dynamic structures that occur when a large opening is required in a building envelope are within the scope of this discussion. The classic examples are sports stadiums that incorporate an operable roof, with other common occur-rences being kinetic wall sections, ranging in scale from aircraft hangers to shop fronts. Güçyeter has undertaken research on types of kinetic structures,4_{while in a} similar vein Korkmaz explores the possibilities of umbrella-like structures.5_{The kinetic} of such works is usually a monolithic translation or rotational movement, as sections slide or fold back within the main structure. While they provide a good analysis of the various kinetic operations, neither Güçyeter nor Korkmaz considers the compositional opportunity they afford. This focus on the mechanics refl ects typical design research in this fi eld. In most cases, dynamic structures are conceived and undertaken as engineering solutions, and the compositional aspects of the design are less explicit.

Even when high-profi le designers are involved, there appears to be lit-tle interest in the design of the kinetic operation, as opposed to the design of the components. Take, for example, Shigeru Ban, an architect who consistently uses roller panels to create kinetic walls, often incorporated with large free-hanging cur-tains. Similar to the traditions of Japanese internal screens, the external facade is activated through kinetics at the scale of a bay. This approach has been utilized for single dwellings, apartments, an art museum and commercial buildings. The use of kinetic shutters is primarily to allow a continuity of space that can fl exibly adjust to the seasons or specifi c occasions. There is no indication in the project descriptions or interviews that the design of the kinetic operation is considered.6

A second example of high-profi le designers using kinetics is the work of the Hyperbody research group. Director Kas Oosterhuis and his research team are designers with an ambitious agenda that embraces kinetic interactivity. Among the fi rst to engage experimentally with digital technology, Hyperbody are realizing prototypes of a responsive kinetic architecture based on pneumatic structures. These are described as ‘programmable pro-active structures’ reacting in real time ‘based on input values from both the users of the building and from environmental forces acting upon the structure’.7

Their vision of a truly reactive architectural machine has been simulated using interactive virtual environments. The aptly named ‘Muscle’ series of projects

Figure 2.1 Analytical drawings of pneumatic structure prototypes developed by the Hyberbody research group, TU Delft

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represents a fi rst step towards the actualization of a tensile architecture activated by pneumatic ribs.8_{At a larger scale to these working prototypes is the design} entry for the 9/11 competition in New York, which proposes data-driven hydraulic cylinders to allow a tower to contract and reconfi gure its form by up to 50 per cent. The emphasis of designs from Hyperbody is on fl exible membranes – designs that have a strong correlation with the double curvature aesthetic, ubiquitous with users of contemporary NURBS software. On the evidence of the prototypes or their documentation, there does not appear to be an examination of the kinetics from a compositional point of view.

The fi nal example to be considered within this section on kinetic structure is Hoberman Associates, arguably the leading international design and construction consultancy in kinetics. Typically, their projects utilize scissor joints, which produce singular, incremental motion. Director Chuck Hoberman has patented three-dimen-sional scissor joints, which have been realized as consumer products and at the scale of exhibition works. Typically, Hoberman structures expand and contract uniformly upon themselves in captivating slow motion, ‘blooming successively like fi reworks’.9 While the overall motion is singular and is executed uniformly across the structure, the three-dimensional complexity is such that the eye is drawn to individual parts of the sophisticated assembly. The work is precision engineered, resulting in a silent, successive folding and unfolding of structural components.

A proposed sun-shading project in Madrid, undertaken as a consultant to Norman Foster and Partners, suggests alternative compositional approaches to the singular motion typically associated with these dynamic structures. As visualized in Figure 2.2, each hexagonal sunscreen contracts independently into the overall triangulated grid, and, while the animation shows a regular centre to periphery composition, the multiple orientation of the hexagonal forms adds an additional complexity that is not readily predictable. The regular centre to periphery transitional movement is enhanced by the contrasting orientation of the individual parts. Moreover, the independent motion of each part potentially allows a range of non-uniform compositions beyond centre to periphery.

Figure 2.2

Analytical drawing of adaptive shading for the Ciudad de Justicia, Madrid, 2006–2011, by Hobermann Associates

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Part I

16

Kinetic screens

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Other kinetics

This section of activity covers a grey zone, on the edges of the defi nition of spatial kinetics established in Chapter 1. There are a number of self-powered, independent kinetic assemblies that can operate as part of a building facade. These include robotic systems such as wall-climbing window-cleaning robots 26_{and turbines that have} been developed for generating electricity via wind.27_{An intriguing example of an} inde-pendent kinetic assembly is the proposal by Stephen Gage for wall-climbing robots, designed to undertake environmental and maintenance tasks. The proposal for wall robots, or what Gage terms ‘edge monkeys’, is based on a critique of centrally controlled environmental systems.28_{Rather than develop fully automated systems,} Gage argues for the use of simple mechanical window latches and taps that can be activated by mobile robots. As visualized, independently controlled fi gures roam up and across the building facade. While these are primarily considered in functional terms, Gage proposes they could also have an educative or performative role when not engaged in maintenance tasks. As illustrated in Figure 2.17, the potential (if there are suffi cient numbers in the troupe) is for any number of choreographed patterns.

A second group of kinetic examples on the edge of the research scope revolve around water as an integral part of a facade composition. The use of water to enliven architecture has a long history. Apart from fountains incorporated into building designs, the development of water walls as part of building facades is reasonably common in twentieth-century architecture, perhaps the most sophisticated being Grimshaw’s design for the 1992 Expo in Seville.29_{One project that goes beyond} that of a simple water wall is the Zaragoza Digital Water Pavilion, which utilizes

Figure 2.17

Analytical drawing based on proposal for robotic ‘edge monkeys’, by Stephen Gage, London, 2005

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Part I

24

computer-controlled water to generate falling text and patterns. The water walls act in a similar way to large-scale interactive media screens. The control system can process images or patterns based on input from motion sensors, or create openings based on proximity of surveyors.30

Equally innovative is the Blur Building by Diller and Scofi dio, which used water mist to generate a dynamic volume. The project was commissioned as a temporary structure for a world media expo at Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland and has been analyzed in relation to consistent themes in their work – the breaking down of boundaries between ‘the human and the technological’ and the ‘interweaving of the organic and the inorganic, the ”natural” and the ”artifi cial”’.31

Finally, no discussion of contemporary kinetics can be undertaken with-out mentioning the extraordinary projects of Philip Beesley.32_{In particular his later} works such as his 2004 Refl exive Membranes and Hylozoic Soil, initially exhibited in 2007 and subsequently selected for the Canadian Pavilion at the 2010 Venice Biennale. While not a facade, the lattice-like installation of delicate acrylic armatures and feathery laser-cut Mylar is evidence of the subtle poetry of motion achievable with a fi ne density of kinetic parts.

Contemporary discourse

The slice through activity reveals the range of compositional opportunities afforded by contemporary kinetics. Facades are being designed at various scales, tested via physical prototypes and in some cases realized. Moreover, the projects locate a

Figure 2.18

Analytical drawing based on Digital Water Pavilion by MIT Media Lab and Carlo Ratti Associati, Zaragoza, Spain, 2008 Figure 2.19 Analytical drawing based on Blur Building by Diller and Scofi dio, Swiss national expo, Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, 2002

Kinetic Facades

Designing Kinetics for

Architectural Facades

Designing Kinetics for

Architectural Facades

State change

Contents

Illustration credits

Illustrations

Foreword

Acknowledgements

Movement at

the periphery

A morphology of pattern for kinetic facades

Morphology

Kinetics

Facade

The potential of kinetics

Aspirations

Tactics

Kinetic precedent

Contemporary practice

Operable structure

Kinetic screens

Surface

Other kinetics

Contemporary discourse