A Tectonic Approach for Integrating Kinesis with a Building in the Design Process of Interactive Skins

Abstract

Today, interactive architecture plays an increasingly important role in urban milieus. However, in terms of design principles and guidelines in the age of digital architecture, the design and construction of interactive skins has been under-explored. A new design approach to integrate interactive skins and architecture is needed. Certainly skins with interactive and kinetic properties need to be designed and constructed with a new approach for physical and content integration, instead of the traditional design approach. Thus, the ultimate objective of this study is to formulate a suitable design method in order to integrate kinesis with a building. Furthermore, this research aims to establish effective tectonics for interactive skins through the exploration of different state-of-the-art interactive skins. For this study, according to essential design factors that come from the definition of interactive architecture, such as interaction, display, and content, interactive skins are classified in order to build up controllable, available design parameters of interactive skins. This study also proposes designing an effective tectonic model for the integration of kinesis with a building through in-depth case studies. Moreover, in order to prove the viability of these proposed models, this research provides a prototype of a multi-agent-based interactive skin system using Delta robot kinematics, by which designers can quickly design and effectively simulate feasible interactive skins.