Initial State of Confusion

Right so what is it I want to achieve with this design thesis and what is this about interactive/responsive architecture? I am still developing these ideas and the project is still gestating. Whilst pushing ahead with a project, I am developing the theoretical framework and background to support this and hence its development is slower than other projects.

The initial exploration looks into the notion of a time based architecture, that is one that may not be the same from one moment to the next. The exciting aspect here is the manner in which this can operate in response to human activity.

In fact it is the response and adaptability on a human and social level which should be the key driving force of this design. Oosterhuis’s notion of the Hyperbody is an appropriate starting point for the further development of this notion.


KAS OOSTERHUIS: this definition needs explaining in greater detail · so i'll lay it on you one word at a time · a hyperbody is to architecture what hypertext is to written information · a hypertext is saturated with warp holes, you can jump from one universe to the next in a fraction of a second · it will soon be made clear to you how warp holes can be introduced into buildings · a hyperbody is a building body · a building can only go hyper if it has a body · this building body is the vehicle for processing information · information which has been dragged in by the user, and information fed into the building body by way of the umbilical cord · a hyperbody is a programmable building body · the building body is now programmable · we are seeing this process take place under our very eyes · take a good look around and you'll see what i mean · within the last ten, twenty years it has become possible to measure and adjust the services in buildings by remote control · buildings themselves have been measuring their temperature and humidity in real time since time immemorial · architects have just never got round to actively deploying these techniques in the design process · the agenda is still dictated by a monocultural monopoly of the ideal climate · everyone knows that such a thing doesn't exist and yet it is accepted without protest as an incontravertible given · a programmable building has no such givens · it is programmable, which means that you can create in it whatever climate you desire · it also means that architects can design experiences and that users can evoke experiences with their own particular climates · a hyperbody is a programmable building body that changes · until now architecture was a discipline of intractability · buildings were always meant to be as steady as a rock and give shape to the flow and, more importantly, resist that flow · let's imagine that buildings could move with changes in use, more so than was considered possible before now, that they could move with changing conditions · then architecture would become dynamic · and i'm talking about more than just moving windows and doors · here it's about the entire building · architecture would be able to move · a hyperbody is a programmable building body that changes in real time · nor am i talking about animation in the design process, but about animated buildings · buildings that are continually calculating, persistently fixing their position with regard to other real-time processes in and around them · i'm thinking about building parts that fix their position with regard to other parts of the same building · rather like an arm and the opposite leg balancing each other out · the building's components are a swarm of elements that can function individually but still belong to the same swarm · a hyperbody is a programmable building body that changes its shape in real time · i'm assuming that the building's structure will become programmable · until now designing the structure has always been aimed at resisting distortion · the most fantastic distortion diagrams are drawn up so that heaven and earth can be moved to rule out all distortion, and thus the beauty of distortion · a programmable structure never stops calculating, it keeps on fixing its position to preserve its balance or indeed to lose it, to relax or to brace itself · a real-time building body is always doing something · a hyperbody is a programmable building body that changes its shape and content in real time · real-time building bodies feed on information, they process information and then separate it again · that information of course travels as hypertext does, via warp holes from one universe to another · when this information settles in the hyperbodies as a hypersurface, then our perception of the spaces in and around the hyperbody can be programmed and driven and is therefore a subject for design · architecture becomes a game and the users players · architects are the programmers of this game ·
from... http://www.oosterhuis.nl/quickstart/index.php?id=264

In developing a brief
So now we are getting somewhere towards a thesis project based upon interactivity through a building like a Hyperbody. So where does this take a real world project? That is the key question here as I am needing to develop a project on a site with a specifc brief.

So where do I go from this????
This building is a good inspiration for incorporation of interactive technologies within the built fabric of a building. Here it addresses the varying user requirements and is the architecture of the building. Choosing a house as a focus of study allows more detail to be developed about user requirements and the game played between the inhabitants and the building. Dwelling offers richness in usage patterns, and social cohesiveness… what makes someone want to live in one of these buildings? The ideas of why people dwell and how people individualise themselves making a house a home would be something that would be important in pursuing this line of enquiry. Perhaps a departure could be into larger housing groups which can then respond directly to individual and collective behaviours. Whilst these technologies seem far fetched compared to “traditional” architectural practice, these technologies are being investigated and tested as ONL are not just a theoretical practice.