Back to Square One!

As I was continuing my research on snakes, quadrate bone connections and the idea of responsive kinematics, I found myself continuously getting stuck on one specific design element. This eventually drove me to simply trying to design a connection or mechanism based upon a quadrate bone system, putting me completely off track of where I wanted to be at that point in time. I decided to take a step back, trying to understand what I wanted to achieve with my design. The original idea was a public, recreational outdoor space that would essentially take different form and create different program based upon its surrounding environment. The concept still seemed like a solid idea so I began exploring it once again but from a different angle. This time solely looking at responsive kinematics in architecture.

I began doing some more research on ideas and precedents of kinetic architecture and looked through Robert Kronenbourg's "Transportable Architecture 2 and 3". This gave me some really interest ideas of how I could re-purpose a kinetic system within my design to have it work the way I wanted it too. I began to run with it, thinking on the premise that if my structure could directly influence one form, its transformation through motion would inevitably create a completely new form and therefore new program as well. These mechanisms would allow these transformations to occur several times and in essence, the multiple spaces that would be produced would be reused over and over again. Thus this would deal with the theme of recycling in a completely different context as recycling is simply not just recycling materials but also "to use again in the original form or with minimal alteration" , or "to cause to pass through a cycle again". I believed this was a solid foundation to work upon, however I was still having trouble grasping what exactly my structure would look like and what elements were there if this structure was to be in constant flux.






























The design concept shown here was something that intrigued me, something I wished to emulate. An ever undulating and changing environment that could take on many shapes and forms, conforming to the needs of its occupants. The design by "Sparc" seen at http://www.archdaily.com/15014/ad-futures-4-sparc/ would create public spaces as well as change its permeability to protect any of its inhabitants from the elements. Therefore my original form for the design would be very simple and basic, a cube perhaps, that would shift and mold. From here I once again began looking at how I would create my steel structure. In my search for a structural system I stumbled upon Robert Neumayer's Topotransegrity.



From this concept I began to look at how kinetic linkages could be used and ultimately came full circle as I saw a way to use the quadrate bone idea in a completely different way that I had originally. When the "mouth" was open the system would be in its original form, in this example it is a simple plane. However as the mouth closes the plane begins to transform as it is pushed in different directions changing the topography and form of the design.

This would create open public space above, and sheltered public space below. There were however two problems that I realized: 1) Damn this was looking too much like topotransegrity and; 2) The kinetic systems were somewhat out of my grasp and understanding, which was why I kept recreating what had already been created. Therefore I came to the conclusion that if I continued with this idea of responsive kinematics, I would get caught up in the details over and over again. At this point all I still had was a design concept that seemed to be going in circles and by realizing this I decided to leave the idea of responsive kinematics alone for now and go back to the beginning. However this time around I would not make the same mistakes I did the previous two times. Instead I would create a problem for myself and solve it by looking at what I wanted to design, what was interesting and what I thought needed to be changed or fixed. Once a concept and design had been nearly completed, I could possibly implement what I had learned about responsive kinematics at a later time if it was within a realistic time frame.

I began looking at a few different buildings and structures that I could build an interesting case on.

I thought of an airplane hangar. Its constructed of steel and it could be interesting to play with the idea of flight and aviation, but the purpose of a hangar is very simple; a large open space constructed by suspended rafters that houses planes. A possible idea that I'll keep in mind, but what other options do I have? As I was walking home last night I looked up and there in front of me was...



I thought gas stations are so generic and so boring, I could do something with this. However as I began to explore the idea it didn't seem as there was a whole lot of potential. Something else then popped into my mind, something that could still deal with the idea of public space, create a solution to a pet peeve of mine, all while giving the city of Toronto a major face lift on one of its major streets in the process.

Ever seen one of these? Ever had to run and jump over the rails to catch the streetcar, or better yet avoid oncoming traffic and feel like your reenacting a scene from the movie Dodgeball? Have you ever tried to take cover in the shelter only to find that its very unpleasant, doesn't protect you from any elements, is overcrowded and just seems to make everything worse? Hmmm...Interesting!

More to come very soon.

M. Defina