AADRL [material research workshop]
Studio : Robert Stuart - Smith
Assistant : Tyson Hosmer
Cooperation with : Marya Filatova . Sakshi Mathur . Lei Yang

This workshop was focused on experimenting the material behavior through air and water actuation. The models were designed to investigate the material response to surface and topological patterns.  

In order to understand the material behaviour we started with simple tests in latex with air actuation keeping in mind the principles of fluid dynamics. Basic properties of air such as less-weight and expansion in relation to the material were explored.  After exploring the effect of air-actuation on latex we started to design models with water actuation by using the same principles of fluid dynamics on silicone models. We tried to combine the observed principles of surface, topological and movement patterns in designing larger complex models to achieve a dynamic system.  

The design of the 'body plan' for the final model was achieved by first deriving the pattern of water network and then strategically placing water pockets along it as per the intended movement of the form. Principles of gravity, inflation, network pattern, constraint points and spring steel collectively formed the basis of this experiment.