Archinect
Michael Burton

Michael Burton

San Francisco, CA, US

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Flexagon: Transformative Kinetics (Thesis Project)

The goal of this thesis was to invent a new mode of kinetic design that goes beyond what a typical kinetic application is seen as in architecture. In many cases, kinetic applications to buildings remain as seperate building elements that arent integrally tied to the formation of architectural space. They often move in an oscillatory fashion, with motion occuring between two stable positions. The motion itself is often contained to two dimensions. I set out to create a kinetic system which is cycical, never reversing its motion to move between 2 states, and truely three-dimensional in nature. The flexagon system allows for variation in geometry and arrangement of a series of tetrahedrons that cyclically rotate and tumble, redefining the space surrounding them. Within this system, variations on the individual tetrahedrons can start to emulate floors walls and ceilings, envoking a transformative architecture that is tied to the kinetic system. 

 
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Status: School Project
Location: Unsited
My Role: Designer and Fabricator
Additional Credits: Advisors: Cameron Wu and Andrew Witt