The Principals present the newest chapter in their exploration of interactive architecture,
Wave Dilfert: Wave (moves in wave-form oscillations) + Dilfert (geek-like intelligence, absorbs information like a sponge). Wave Dilfert is a new kind of space that reads the changes in light and shadow occurring within it, catalogs and calculates them, then pulses, contracts or expands in reaction. The installation was inspired by the work of Ushahidi; a non-profit, crowdsourcing disaster relief, tech innovator. Much how Ushahidi de-mystifies the complexities of war-torn or disastor ridden locales, The Principals developed a system that could de-mystify the complexities of space through sourcing the information of its users and making it accessible through interaction.

The largest and most ambitious yet of The Principals’ research installations, Wave Dilfert was designed and displayed for The Feast, an international ideas conference held in NYC on October 5 and 6. The installation measures 17’ long x 13’ wide x 10’ high and was custom-designed and built for the entrance hall of the Essex Street Market in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  

Constructed of a wood frame and 200 hand-painted paper panels, Wave Dilfert’s brain and motor cortex are driven by a series of Arduinos, Hi-torque Stepper Motors, Drivers, Light Sensors and Power Regulators, all combined to produce the first ever robotic space, able to change its characteristics in response to how it is being occupied.