Living Form Exhibition: the Transformable World of Chuck Hoberman

An exhibition of Chuck Hoberman's work is on at the Building Centre in London from 4 March - 30 April 2011. Well worth a visit.
'We believe that a world undergoing accelerating change needs an adaptive, interactive approach to design. Whether that means inventing a rapidly deployable shelter, re-defining portability for children's products, or collaborating with architects to develop next-generation adaptive buildings via our Adaptive Building Initiative, our clients seek us out to shape change — and inspire it.' Hoberman Associates.
Exhibition web site and Hoberman Associates web site.

Adaptive Building Intiative

The Adaptive Building Initiative is a collaboration between Chuck Hoberman and Buro Happold specialising in the development of adaptive elements. Worth a look:
Adaptive Building Initiative web site and Projects.

Adaptive Architecture Conference, 3-5th March 2011

Unfortunately I only just found out about this conference, it is highly relevant to the unit's work. It is not on until March however and the site says there are a apparently student tickets available, but these come at a cost. It is to be held at the Building Centre, London from 3-5 March 2011.

'Architecture has always been inventive and adaptable. However, our current era is unique in its technological potential combined with societal and environmental challenges. The need to generate sustainability, developments in design techniques and technology advances are leading to the emergence of a new Adaptive Architecture. The built environment is becoming truly responsive in terms of physical, real-time changes acting under intelligent control. Adaptive Architecture can be characterized by four key attributes; it is Dynamic, Transformable, Bio-inspired and Intelligence. Drawing on these themes, the Adaptive Architecture Conference will bring together leading practitioners, researchers and industry experts who will present built work and practical research. Presenters will demonstrate new types of reconfigurable architecture, and will show how adaptive strategies can extend a building’s life cycle, enhance energy efficiency and optimise resource utilisation. The conference will be organised into four modules:
Dynamic Facades
Next-generation, responsive facades will be examined, including the creation of a building fabric that is both intelligent and communicative. Presenters will demonstrate systems that are capable of reducing energy demands, enhancing occupant comfort and integrating energy generation into contemporary architecture.
Transformable Structures
Methods to create building-scale structures that change their size and shape will be demonstrated. Speakers will discuss architecture that adapts over different time-scales, whether daily cycles or long term response to changing economic demands, climate adaptation, weather patterns, emergencies and other external factors.
Bio-inspired materials
Nature creates responsive organisms and materials that transform, heal, and change colour. These functions originate at the molecular level and scale up to create adaptive systems that actuate by chemical and physical cues. Utilizing insights from the natural world, researchers are now creating a new generation of adaptive materials and devices. Speakers will present state of the art research, and discuss how nature’s strategies can provide inspiration for design.
Intelligence
As buildings develop the capacity to adapt, the challenge is to implement effective control where building automation systems, user interfaces and services can interact seamlessly, to embed intelligence within the architecture. Speakers will present current strategies as well as explore the future potential of intelligent systems.'
Adaptive Architecture Conference site. The student ticket registration is here.

Is Consumerism Killing Our Creativity?

Richard found this interesting article about consumerism: 'I was thinking recently about what my biggest distractions were – the things keeping me from pushing my creative projects forward. As I scanned through my daily activities, I found that the most insidious distraction was, in fact, things. More specifically, the wanting, hunting, and getting of things – whether they be tangible (a new computer) or intangible (information). As Annie Leonard says in The Story of Stuff, “Our primary identity has become that of being consumers – not mothers, teachers, or farmers, but of consumers. We shop and shop and shop.” We love our stuff. Yet more than the stuff itself, we love the act of finding it – the search, the anticipation.' Jocelyn Glei
Is Consumerism Killing Our Creativity? Article.

The Secret Life of Waves

A very interesting programme which is more about a view of reality as an ever changing process than ocean waves themselves. 'Documentary-maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves...Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.'
The Secret Life of Waves on BBC iPlayer until 13th Feb 2011.

Kinetica Art Fair

The Kinetica Art Fair is on from Thursday 3rd to Sunday 6th February and might be interesting. Madi Boyd is one of the artists exhibiting and her work is shown above. She says: "For me, a blank canvas is a pitch dark room into which I sculpt light and space by combining built environments with projected video. I have made several works where the cinema screen is re-invented as sculpture and interacts with the film. My current work explores perception of movement and form in space. I am collaborating with neuroscientists at UCL to produce experimental arenas in order to explore the limits of human perception. These resist full comprehension of their form, making them compelling to view. People often report that they are mesmerised by my installations.' Madi Boyd
There are also some interesting talks as well as workshops 'to create inventive, interactive devices.... lighting fixtures that respond to the world around us, or magically make music out of simple electronic circuitry.' workshops
Art Fair site

BIG's Waste to Energy Plant

“The new plant is an example of what we at BIG call Hedonistic Sustainability – the idea that sustainability is not a burden, but that a sustainable city in fact can improve our quality of life. The Waste-to-Energy plant with a ski slope is the best example of a city and a building which is both ecologically, economically and socially sustainable”, Bjarke Ingels Founder and Partner, BIG.... All of this while the smokestack is modified to puff smoke rings of 30m in diameter whenever 1 ton of fossil CO2 is released. These smoke rings which are the brainchild of Germany-based art studio realities:united will form due to the condensation of water in the flue gases as they as they slowly rise and cool, serving as a gentle reminder of the impact of consumption and a measuring stick that will allow the common Copenhagener to grasp the CO2 emission in a straightforward way - turning the smokestack traditionally the symbol of the industrial era into a symbol for the future. At night, heat tracking lights are used to position lasers on the smoke rings into glowing artworks.'e-architect full article here and also see BIG's slide show of images of the project here.