Fourth Year Arch 4020 Thesis Studio
SPRING 2021
"Tangible Terrains" was my thesis project, in which I created an installation piece using a Kinect input and projection mapping to produce particles that interacted with both audio and visual inputs. The music produced an input for the particle nodes to pulse and change, while the visual component was impacted by a Kinect. I tied two projector screens together and mapped them using Touchdesigner.
This thesis was a commentary on the future of the architectural profession and a post-digital interface. As technology continues to evolve exponentially, many assume that roles traditionally held by humans will be taken over by machines. This causes us to question the role of the designer or architect. However, as technology evolves, the role of the designer becomes even more critical, as the designer must input creative ideas into systems. Technology only prompts systems thinking at a larger scale. Therefore, this thesis could serve as a prototype for an interface for a designer.
Buildings respond to our presence, whether we prompt it as designers or not. Floorboards creak and skyscrapers sway. Even as new technology develops, the role of architecture remains the same. However, there are now increasing opportunities to create architecture that is more contextual than simply program or physical space. Why can’t the built environment respond in real-time, adapting in similar ways to how our bodies adapt to our environment? Buildings in the future will promote dwelling that exhibits and responds to these shifts in real time, providing optimal systems for dwelling.
