During my exchange program in Germany I had the opportunity to have my first contact
with Rhino, Grasshopper, Processing, and Arduino, and with those, a whole new world
in architecture and design. After, I decided to invest some time in research where I
could explore some of these technologies and conceptualise an architecture based on
movement, change, responsiveness and geometric flexibility.
The goal was to prototype and control a dynamic geometry using arduino software and
hardware in it’s components together with the computational research. In order to discover
movement mechanisms generated by geometry and modulation, a study and prototype
experiment was developed based on origami and origami tessellation concepts created
by different artists and designers.
From the studied geometries, the modular polyhedral tessellation was chosen to be the
final prototype. An ideal prototype was envisioned where the studied movements were
going to be controlled by a hybrid (digital - physical) platform based around the use of
the arduino, sensors and motors, where the movement of its faces would be responsive to
the weather and capable of pursuing the best ambiance for the user.
Although this research didn’t reach the expected outcome, it turned out to be an
interesting and inspiring experience for future experiments and generated an article to
soon be published in the Cadernos de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da PUC Minas magazine.