Interactive Architecture

Every year, a bevy of new phones, games, televisions, and electronic reading devices ride into our lives on a tidal wave of interactive hype. These i-products, while handy, primarily confine their interactivity to the surfaces of screens. Not exactly the kind of "world-changing" transformation we've been promised. In __Interactive Architecture__, authors Michael Fox and Miles Kemp introduce us to a brave new world where design pioneers are busy creating environments that not only facilitate interaction between people, but also actively participate in their own right. These spacesable to reconfigure themselves in response to human stimuliwill literally change our worlds by addressing our ever-evolving individual, social, and environmental needs. In other words, it's time to stop asking what architecture is and start asking what it can do. __Interactive Architecture__ is a processes-oriented guide to creating dynamic spaces and objects capable of performing a range of pragmatic and humanistic functions. These complex physical interactions are made possible by the creative fusion of embedded computation (intelligence) with a physical, tangible counterpart (kinetics). A uniquely twenty-first century toolbox and skill setvirtual and physical modeling, sensor technology, CNC fabrication, prototyping, and roboticsnecessitates collaboration across many diverse scientific and art-based communities. __Interactive Architecture__ includes contributions from the worlds of architecture, industrial design, computer programming, engineering, and physical computing. These remarkable projects run the gamut in size and complexity. Fullscale built examples include a house in Colorado that programs itself by observing the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and then learns to anticipate and accommodate their needs. __Interactive Architecture__ examines this vanguard movement from all sides, including its sociological and psychological implications as well as its potentiallybeneficial environmental impact. Foreword / William J. Mitchell -- Physical Change : Trends In Kinetic Architecture ; Ways And Means Of Kinetic Motion ; Horizons Of Kinetic Architecture -- Embedded Computation : Trends In Embedded Computation ; Ways And Means Of Embedded Computation ; Horizons Of Embedded Computation In Architecture -- Project Landscape : Adaptable Space : Living Environment ; Working Environment ; Entertainment Environment ; Public Environment ; Environmental Impact : Energy Efficiency ; Active Sustainable Solutions ; Ephemeralization ; Environmental Cognizance ; Enhancing And Extending Activities : Mediated Environments ; Gerontechnology ; Physically Challenged ; Active Participation ; Coexistence ; Sociological And Psychological Implications : Changing Lifestyle Patterns ; Behavior Awareness ; Building Awareness ; Sense Of Place ; Control Of Space ; Attachment To Space ; Sense Of Sound ; Sense Of Smell ; Artistic Initiatives -- Design And The Profession : Designing Interactive Systems ; Novel Tools And Heuristics ; A Pedagogical Approach ; Academic Initiatives ; Client And User Initiatives ; Corporate Initiatives ; Economic Feasibility -- New Horizons : Technology Transfer ; Interface Design ; The End Of Mechanics ; Autonomous Robotics ; Biomimetrics ; Evolutionary Systems ; Possibilities And Understandings ; The End Of The Beginning -- A New Epoch Has Begun! / Mahesh B. Senagala. Michael Fox And Miles Kemp. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 252-256). Interactive architecture is a relatively new and growing area in 'smart' architecture, and authors Michael Fox and Miles Kemp are among the leaders in this field. This book looks at the potential of interactive architecture: what it is, how it impacts our lives, what is necessary to design it and where we are headed in the future Interactive Architecture by Michael Fox. Princeton Architectural Pr,2009