urbanLab Magazin 2021 - Transformation

The buildings around us are immovable,
although they are surrounded by a
constantly dynamic and changing environment.
Advanced technology has allowed
designers to develop an architecture
that responds to the environment
and brings dynamics to the building.
Mainly focusing on the environmental
factors, these kinetic facades are solving
the problem of architecture by adapting
to the natural environment. This
helps to create a better physical comfort
for the human inside the building.
However, it is necessary not to forget
that the inhabitants that observers this
architecture are also a vital part of this
dynamic environment. Preliminary investigation
shows that, unfortunately,
human interaction is missing in most
of the case studies of kinetic architecture.
On the other hand sculptures and
installations have adopted interactivity
as a vital component, inherent to the
works to capture an audience and bring
visual aesthetics. Some architectural typologies
like shopping areas, museums,
and advertisement buildings could benefit
from the integration of this artistic
interactivity into the kinetic envelope.
Interactive facades are part of the architecture
field that focuses on the creation
of spaces or building components
that can perform actions based on environmental
factors or with the needs
of the user. This type of facade represents
a connecting link that receives or
senses the interactive behaviors of the
environment around it and reacts back
into space. In this case, the two necessary
requirements are ubiquitous interaction
and robotic transformation
[Weiser, 1991]. Automated responsive
facades and installations have become
more popular nowadays and are commonly
incorporated as a method for
improving human comfort and energy
efficiency in the building. From the analyzed
information it is visible that most
of the architectural objects respond to
changes in real-time by using different
kinds of sensors combined with different
mechanisms. Unfortunately from
the research, we learn that the value of
human-interactive kinetic façades might
be underestimated. For that reason, in
the research paper, the focus is on the
human as an object of interactivity.
KINETIC FAÇADE
Kinetic façade is the science of constructing
buildings so that structural elements
can move relative to each other
without violating the overall integrity
of the building. Kinetic facades often
mediate between aesthetics and utility.
Integrated with urban features the
kinetic façade or installation should be
programmable according to the wishes
of the users and thus facilitate the
perception of the urban space. It must
also be interactive, as it is a key quality
in kinetic facades. In the research paper
of Ms. Kaviya Lakshmi Ayyappan and Ar.
R. Meena Kumari [2018], stated that adding
movement to a building façade can
turn it into a kinetic sculpture that continuously
presents new visual aspects in
different variations.
INTERACTIVE FAÇADE
Fig.2: Human-interactive kinetic façade
section diagram (own illustration)
STUDENT IDEAS
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