Architectronics: Towards a Responsive Environment

Contemporary architecture can be seen as a dynamic system that changes in response to its environment and even as a system that can modify itself. Interactive or responsive environments are not totally new to architecture; however, the possibilities in architecture have only begun to be examined. To look at the possibilities in this emerging field experimentation is required and the architect must develop an understanding of the language of sensors, actuators and control systems. This article examines an interdisciplinary design research studio with mechatronic engineers which allowed a wide range of experimentation. It shows that the scope of what can be done with responsive architecture is hard to imagine from where we now stand and that it is only through a broad range of experimentation that we can find the most beneficial uses of this powerful technology. The resulting projects - kinetic architecture on control systems - challenge our understanding of what our built environment could be.