Akis (Evangelos) Polykandriotis, Giulia Arienzo Malori, Shiri Dobrinsky, Tao Yu are students at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. These students work in the Spyropoulos Studio on the Architectural Association Design Research Laboratory (AADRL) programme, Directed by Theodore Spyropoulos.
In this essay, they present their ideas focusing on exploring bottom-up methodologies in designing a behavioural and adaptable infrastructure to be implemented in the urban fabric.
We live in a world that is constructed by many complex relationships. The interactions occurring within and in between processes, facilitated by the advance of technology, are generating rapidly changing environments. Within this context, we are stating that architecture should be able to contain, adapt and participate in these changes. Infrastructure is to become architecture.
As a response to the existing functional and operational infrastructure, which is fundamentally invasive and permanent, we propose a model for infrastructure which aims to augment the experience of the inhabitants of the city through an interactive medium. With no fixed foundation, it is a dynamic and flexible system, with a tendency of temporality. Implemented in the existing urban fabric, the system will be able to respond to the changing conditions, deform and adapt, thus it should operate in a non-invasive manner.
Therefore, the system is air-based, allowing freedom in terms of mobility and dynamism, leaving no footprint and liberating the ground level for free movement. The system operates by localized communication generating a reactionary swarm of agents, performing a higher level of organization, enabling real-time decision making, which makes it adaptive and flexible.
Achieving a sense of space within the temporary nature of the system requires the use of the atmospheric element, which is facilitated by the use of illumination and the transformable geometrical properties of the system. Those attributes, which are implemented in the individual unit, also serve as a strategy for mobility, formation and communication between units and the human participants, enriching the level of interaction. In the population, coordination and cooperation within the system will manifest diverse spatial configurations, enabling the system to achieve various goals.
During our research for transformable properties in geometrical forms, we chose the geometry of the invertible cube, originally discovered by Paul Schatz, as our base unit. It is constructed out of 6 tetrahedral segments, connected by 2 groups of hinges, allowing it to perform a full loop of inversion. The full cycle of the unit consists of a transition between different states, where the eight most significant are different variations of triangle, hexagon and cube.
Transformation of the unit has been studied by successive experimentation through prototypes, focusing on exploring different ways of using rotary motors; mainly the number and position within the hinge in relation to the rotation axis. As for mobility, an autonomous flight strategy has been explored, where each unit is an active member, able to make decisions in real-time.
Βoth transformation and flight were merged into a combined strategy of a hybrid, in which the unit is able to expand its frame into a double of its size, and inflate membranes with a volume of four times the original unit, achieving a great volume of helium while still able to complete a full loop.
“Everything is situated within a process – everything is in motion. This not only applies to comprehensive systems... but also to our perception of a given space, here and now, and to our interaction with other people.” Olafur Eliasson
Embedded sensors allow the units to recognize patterns in human behaviour and differentiate between them based on input variables, such as velocity, density and duration. The combination of those inputs, the location and the environmental status enables the units to construct a complex understanding of the environment, to choose the level of interaction and make real-time decisions accordingly.
Implemented in the city, the system becomes part of the urban landscape, interacting and influencing the dynamics of familiar spaces. An agent-based strategy allows the units to make local decisions, resulting in reactive and adaptive spatial configurations, creating constantly changing atmospheres, enriching the spatial experience. The use of illumination in the system is for daytime and nighttime operation, whereas light serves as a tool for communication and interaction. Different types of illumination can encourage motion, increase accessibility, and also contribute to the sense of orientation of the inhabitants.
Navigating throughout the city, the system can operate in high altitude to increase flexibility, using wind currents and position alternation to reduce energy consumption. When no particular goal is detected, units are able to ascend above the active height and form a passive swarm, capable also of charging and increasing the level of energy of the cluster.
As we speculate on the future of culture, we must recognize that technology is at its very core, and should therefore serve as a tool for enabling accessibility and as a medium for generating new kinds of interactions and relationships. We therefore argue that by occupying the air with an adaptive machinic ecology, which both influences and is influenced by the constant changing conditions, we can begin to speculate that rich information environments which extend the use of public space, will enrich our urban life, in terms of both interaction and spatial experience.
Tropos is a student project submitted through RIBA Future Architects; our network and community for future and emerging architects, designed to support, inspire and provide a voice as you transition from study to practice. View our resources here.
