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DESIGN CACHE

 

EOS is the end-result of the AA Greece Visiting School at the Architecture Department of the Technical University in Thessaloniki which derives from a series of digital simulations and analogue material explorations via design programming techniques. The aim is to enable a 1-to-1 scale structure to act as a hub of information, capable of communicating with human users through interaction. As the city of Thessaloniki is characterized by specific environmental and urban conditions, the prototype is set to express these properties as an interactive architectural prototype. The structure remains flexible in order to adapt to the ever-changing urban properties providing people with news on the city’s life.

The model realized with soft and hard elements is installed in the exhibition area of the University campus where it will be exposed to the people who are visiting or passing through. While constructed in a rigid yet fluid-like form the structure keeps its’ active character with the integration of electronics as well as advanced bespoke design features. The use of the open-source platform Arduino together with the sophisticated forms designed in Maya and Rhino Grasshopper will result in a transformable structure reactive to external stimuli as well as to live stream of urban. Thus, the interaction becomes two-fold allowing for an extra layer of interplay.

The prototype’s form emerges from a set of design explorations that follow the basic principles of pattern formations in nature. Such ruled formations involve applying attractive forces, repulsive forces, spiral forces, subdivision techniques, and recursive techniques in the design. The fabrication will include the making of a mould to be casted in concrete with both flexible and rigid materials, such as kite fabric and wooden pieces. Digital fabrication machines will be part of the fabrication and assembly processes in line with the digital simulations. The final structure covers a floor area of 4 by 4 meters wide and 2.5 meters in height. In order to communicate with the users a series of changeable patterns take place during the prototype’s activation.