interconnectivity

architecture as a tool to facilitate interconnectivity among users, the natural and built environments.

thesis by Christina B. Hackett

 

 

“Kinetic architecture

“Individuals need buildings that are responsive to their needs; therefore buildings for any purpose would better suit us of they had a sginifcant degree of adaptability, flexibility and capacity for change.”

 

Architecture should adapt rather than stagnate and architecture should transform rather than restrict. Kinetic architecture has that ability to both adapt to users’ needs and transform, creating new and desirable spaces. Used in conjunction with technology, kinetic architecture will improve current “sustainable strategies that increase the resource of efficiency of the operation of buildings.”9 It is also a powerful solution to create interconnectivity between not only users and architecture, but also architecture and the environment.

 

The average lifespan of buildings in America is just shy of 50 years10. The amount of embodied energy in modern day office buildings is roughly the same as the amount of energy the building will consume in fifteen years. To conserve energy that is put into building structures, existing buildings should be reused. Kinetic architecture has the opportunity to rethink the idea of building permanence, while also creating a greener solution to built structures since it has the ability to readily adapt to users’ needs and adapt to the ever-changing weather of the seasons of the year.

Kinetic architecture is an adaptable architecture, with the ability to create flexible spaces that respond to the requirements of varying user activity ranging from habitation, leisure, education, medicine, commerce and industry. As Robert Kronenburg states, buildings using fewer resources and buildings that adapt efficiently to complex site and programmatic requirements are extremely relevant to an industry that is increasingly growing aware of environmental responsibilities12

 

Kinetic systems are classified into three categories: embedded, deployable, and dynamic kinetic structures. Embedded kinetic structures exist within a larger architectural whole and have a primary function of controlling the larger system within the structure, responding to changing factors. Like embedded, dynamic kinetic structures also exist within the larger structure as a whole, but act independently with respect to control the larger context. Conversely, deployable kinetic structures exist in a temporary location with the ability to be transportable, and therefore having the ability to be constructed and deconstructed.

 

With a society that is becoming more dependent on the quickly evolving technology for interactive communication via multimedia environments, typical building use is becoming irregular due to a new emerging way of living. Embedded intelligence in kinetic systems will present practical architectural solutions that coincide with the development of technology. The use of an adaptive control system used within a building allows for automation by a system that has the ability to observe not only user needs, but also the changing environmental conditions. These systems have the ability to operate and adjust to the lowest acceptable energy savings, benefitting the environment.

 

A strong example on the benefits of kinetic architecture with embedded intelligent systems that respond to climate and users is the conceptual design called Kinetower by Kinetura, a multidisciplinary practice that focuses on bringing flexibility to life. Their design for the conceptual skyscraper is a metamorphic building that has the ability to adapt and respond to its environment based of the amount of light and sun that is wanted or needed in the building. The skyscraper has flexible exterior windows that respond to the sunlight throughout the days of the year.

The architects of the project, Barbara van Biervliet and Xaveer Clearhout explained in an interview that the current static architecture that is being designed today no longer has the ability to compete with the quick advancement in communication and transportation. Using the philosophy of form follows function to guide much of their design work, their aesthetic design for the external cladding proves to also be functional, as it has the ability to “breath” in and out depending on the availability of sunlight.”

 

This kinetic reaction creates interconnectivity with not only the building and the environment, but also amongst the building and the users and the users and the environment, for it creates this understanding for users of how the weather affects their living environment. This interconnectivity creates a strong connection to the sky, ground and community that has the ability to be greatly appreciated and utilized in a much more efficient way than typical static buildings that do not have the ability to react to the changes of nature and the changes of occupants daily lives. The use of kinetic architecture can also strengthen the functions of interior spaces by becoming more adaptable to the needs of users. An example of flexible spaces that are interactive with the occupants is Shigeru Ban’s Naked House in Japan. The client specifically asked Ban for home that “provides the least privacy so that the family members are not secluded from one another, a house that gives everyone the freedom to have individual activities in a shared atmosphere, in the middle of a unified family.”