Soft Architectural Assemblies: Soft Kinetics

The project presented in this paper explores integration of custom-made soft robotic muscles into a component-based surface. This project is part of a broader research agenda focused on new material behaviors and their capacity to produce adaptive and dynamic material systems. The paper discusses use of a pneumatic system as a form of material based and pneumatic actuation and presents ongoing research into the capacity of integrated pneu structures to generate kinetic movement within a component-based assembly to produce a responsive and ‘programmable’ architectural skin. This is a prototype-based exploration that demonstrates different kinds of movement achieved by different silicone muscle types and proposes a light modular construct, its components, and patterns of aggregation that work in unison with the silicone muscles to produce a dynamic architectural skin. The project is informed by a history of pneumatic structures, the technology of soft robotics, and a kit-of-parts design strategy.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.AM.107.69

Volume Editors
Amy Kulper, Grace La & Jeremy Ficca

ISBN
978-1-944214-21-0