Thursday, March 02, 2006

Living Skins - Architecture as Interface

Some more on interactive Architecture over at Adobe Think Tank.

"What if a sign did not simply tout new movies, sodas, and celebrity babies in one-way feeds, but instead revealed something unique about the building, its occupants, or its environment? What if the building could respond, in real time, to the movement of people, the weather, or the whims of bystanders or behind-the-scenes artists? Digital designers and architects have begun working together to move beyond the facade and give buildings a living skin."



I plan to explore this route a little further, looking at the whole urban environment and taking it a little further than just a building facade.
For people to improve, care and evolve their environment there is a need for them to be intrinsically aware of its state and their effect on it. How about an environment (i'm thinking a buildinf/city) that is alive in a way. It shows us how it feels, what its doing and what effect we as inhabitants are having on it.

This would mean more than just a video skins and light installations. One example was the building covered in tiny colour changing LEDs dependinng on its sun exposure. > See Habitat Hotel. (also more info here: http://www.interactivearchitecture.org :: also some other great posts on there)

One issue with large format video/light skins seems to be their general usage at the moment, and the danger of them turning into just another billboard. "one of the common problems of giant screens recast as building surfaces is that their content is utterly disconnected from the architecture and the function of the building"

Via Core 77
PDF of article

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