Resonant Chamber developed by RVTR is an interior envelope system that deploys the principles of rigid origami to transform the acoustic environment through dynamic spatial, material and electro-acoustic technologies. Our aim is to develop a soundsphere able to adjust its properties in response to changing sonic conditions, altering the sound of a space during performance and creating an instrument at the scale of architecture, flexible enough that it might be capable of being played.

The project is developed through three streams of iterative research and development in both computational testing and full-scale prototype installation: Dynamic Surface Geometries; Performative Material Systems; and Variable Actuation and Response. Resonant Chamber is funded through the 2011 Research through Making Grant, U-M Office of the Vice President for Research, 2011 Small Projects Grant, U-M Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada Research Creation Grant.

Interactive Model Description
A network of infrared proximity sensors has been integrated into the four sides of the physical model. These sensors record the distance of gallery visitors to its edges. Information from these sensors is used to actuate the white feather-like “fog harvesting robots” and control the brightness of embedded LEDS. This model is an example of what Future Cities Labs call “live models”. Live models use the interaction of people to explore and simulate the potential effects of environmental forces such as fog, wind and sunlight.
Model Materials: Cast and thermoformed acrylic, custom printed circuit boards, Arduino based microcontrollers, infrared sensors, shape memory alloy motors (Courtesy of Miga Motor Company).

‘Thixotropes’ is comprised of a series of eight illuminated mechanised structures, each of them shaped as a composition of intersecting angular and geometric forms that are made of thin tensed steel banding lined with rows of LED’s.
The constructions continuously revolve around their own axis thereby materialising the path of the light and dissolving the spinning structures into compositions of aerial cones, spheres and ribbons of warm and cold light while giving life and shape to an immaterial construct.

‘Thixotropes’ combines Troika’s interest in art and science and stretches the boundaries of a long history of light painting photography that can be traced back to 1914 when Frank Gilbreth, along with his wife Lillian Moller Gilbreth, used small lights and the open shutter of a camera to track the motion of manufacturing and clerical workers.
Merging technology with their artistic practice, Troika’s moving structures explore the intersection of scientific thought, observation and human experience in a rational and rationalised world, and describes how logic and reason live in the presence of the metaphysical and surreal.

‘Thixotropes’ was commissioned by Selfridges London.

Innovating parametric design and digital fabrication, the structure consists of 163 post-formable plywood components. The pieces were manufactured at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland, with the help of PIPU Ltd. The components were shipped to Hong Kong, where the team assembled the pavilion for the exhibition situated in Kowloon Park.

Hong Kong & Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture is a double biennale organized in both Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and as such one of China’s most important architecture events. What makes the Dragon Skin pavilion quite special among this year’s exhibits, is that it is the only human sized structure that can be entered by visitors.Made out of birch plywood, the pavilion is quite and exotic sight in Hong Kong, where the prevalent natural material in use is bamboo. It has quickly become one of the biennale’s main attractions.

The exhibition was opened for public on the 16th of February and continues until the 23rd of April. 70.000 visitors are expected during this time. Among the exhibitors are renowned architects such as OMA, Steven Holl Architects, MVRDV and Reiser & Umemoto Architects.

The Self-Assembly Line aims to construct a large-scale version of self-assembly virus modules as a user-interactive and performative structure. This is an installation that builds installations, where people engage the assembly process by rotating the enclosure, changing the speed/direction and adding parts to influence the performance of self-assembly at macro-scales.

The Self-Assembly Line represents a large-scale version of a self-assembly virus capsid, demonstrated as an interactive and performative structure. A discrete set of modules are activated by stochastic rotation from a larger container/structure that forces the interaction between units. The unit geometry and attraction mechanisms (magnetics) ensure the units will come into contact with one another and auto-align into locally-correct configurations. Overtime as more units come into contact, break away, and reconnect, larger, furniture scale elements, emerge. Given different sets of unit geometries and attraction polarities various structures could be achieved. By changing the external conditions, the geometry of the unit, the attraction of the units and the number of units supplied, the desired global configuration can be programmed.

Project Team:
Martin Seymour, Andrew Manto, Erioseto Hendranata, Justin Gallagher, Laura Salazar, Veronica Emig, Aaron Olson

Hedoco offers products created by young Polish designers and engineers. Users can buy them in our online shop or make them themselves, for their own use. To do it, they just need to click to the “do it yourself” section of the site and download the projects or technological specifications free of charge– says Piotr Grabowski, President of Modern Arts Management company and Hedoco brand co-founder.
First products offered by the online shop are fashion accessories - ledBag and Eleven Brothers bags - and Dodecaudion, a high-tech gestural music controller. All three products stand out from others that the market offers.

What is Dodecaudion? It is the effect of collaboration of panGenerator group and the Hedoco brand. In a nutshell, Dodecaudion is a a spatial music controller in the form of a regular dodecahedron. Each face of this device has an ”eye” with integrated infrared sensor which collects information on the presence and distance of the musician’s hands. Therefore, Dodecaudion is a gestural instrument which requires the artist to move his/her hands and the entire body, get the palms closer to the device and take them away, and shape them in various configurations. In this way, Dodecaudion offers novel, extraordinary stage possibilities: while generating sounds, the user moves and at the same time creates a new dimension of music during a performance or concert.

In the future, we are going to experiment with Dodecaudion’s platform software, so that it could really control daily chores, for example in the integrated house management system. We believe the device will soon be calling the tune. Following Hedoco’s motto – “Design. Innovation. You – we aim to discover other applications of Dodecaudion and we already see its great potential – says Piotr Grabowski, President of Modern Arts Management, and Hedoco brand co-owner.

The heart of Dodecaudion is Arduino, an electronic platform integrated with the device, which could be used thanks to the idea of open technologies (Open Source as well as Creative Commons and MIT licences). Arduino collects data from all sensors and transfers them to the computer, so they can be used not only during live concerts, but also in any other way, from sound processing and synthesis to creating visual effects.

The use of open Arduino platform gives artists unlimited access to the instrument’s functions and allows for its reprogramming and customization to answer individual needs. It is the asset of Open Source which allows users to search for new solutions and applications themselves.

The concept, developed by four visionary artists forming panGenerator group, emerged in autumn 2010. Six month later, Modern Arts Management company joined the project and the work accelerated. Financial support of Hedoco brand owners brought results: in July 2011, panGenerator constructed the Dodecaudion’s prototype, and in August the first concert to test the instrument was held.

Invited to the project by Hermann Weizenegger – an industrial designer and design professor running his studio haw in Berlin – I was responsible for designing the overall interface between the music by composer and violinist miki and the production process of the robot. Together with the incredibly talented chris jeffs, who provided me with the audio analysis and musical advice as well as Wolf Deiss and Roman Kühnert of artis gmbh we realized what to me was one of the most complex, challenging and inspiring productions I was part of to date.

Hermann’s vision of the overall performance consisted of five variations of a musical piece by MIKI represented in five objects. To address this vision, wax was chosen as a base material, since it allowed rapid manufacturing through milling and application of heat as well as a possible further use for casting. Thus, the performance was conceptualized as a two stages production process showing MIKI and a pianist along the robot manufacturing the objects. In a pre-performance process, the wax base shapes were milled to reflect the musical atmosphere, in the second process the robot finalized the objects with the use of a Bunsen burner in reaction to MIKI’s play.

Given my initial lack of experience with product design and the related manufacturing processes, I teamed up with steffen fiedler to create a formal concept that will work in the timeframe we had. Even though this initial design process happened in Java/Processing with the help of Chris’ analysis tools made in SuperCollider, we realized quickly we would need an entirely different toolset to create data for such a high performance manufacturing process. Thus, the formal concept to match the requirements of the short timeframe for milling was implemented in Rhino/Grasshopper. The concept consisted of a fluent terrain being distorted according to the music. The terrain was chosen to provide the greatest flexibility for how the robot would manufacture it. This translation process is also shown in a minimal dynamic visualization I created in Processing mainly for the audience to understand the process. It was integrated into the lights control done by Chris as well. The large scale renderings for the exhibition were made in sunflow – a fabulous open source renderer written in Java.

Cocoon Lamp by Voxel Studio

For some time the terms “generative manufacturing”, “rapid prototyping”, “stereolithography” or simply “3D printing” are no longer solely known by experts. At the latest through the designs by Assa Ashuach for MGX Design or Karim Pashid for Freedom of Creation the process engineering is well known.
The digital drafting process through CAD systems offers unimagined possibilities. The seemingly absolutely geometrical free creation marks the beginning of a new era of design.
Objet geometries takes it up to another level. Through the polyjet technologie they gain the possibility to print an object with more than only one material. This way the designer can variegate the object’s color and physical character (hard, flexible, transparent, soft etc.) as needed.
Inspired by Nery Oxman`s „the Beast“, who impressively demonstrates the possibilities of the technology.
The result was supposed to be a solely digital planned and automatic manufactured product on the basis of polyjet technology. With the friendly support by objet geometries it was possible to realize this project. (http://www.objet.com)

A cocoon is a shell, which larvae of varies insects, particularly caterpillars, are building for their metamorphosis. The caterpillars use for this a liquid which is pressed out from their spinneret and hardens in the air quickly.
The conceptual idea comes from this parallel to the PolyJet technology, at which a liquid photopolymer is applied out of nozzles and hardens through UV-light.
The adaption of the construction and the clean design of a cocoon lead to the emergence of the inner element. Its geometry is formed by spun threads, which wind protectingly around the light source.
The white and hard material „VeroWhite“ is perfectly suited for this construction, because it provides the required rigidity and disseminates, through its reflective surface, the light further into the space.
A dark layer „TangoBlackPlus“, which is applied to the surfaces of the side of the lamellae, provides the desired color contrast and protects the surface. At its lower end a special fitting is formed, to which the holding element can be connected to.
This way the cocoon can be connected to the mounting element.
This organic form proceeds in swings around the cocoon enclosing it. Being printed out of “DigitalMaterial” of the PolyJet matrix technology, based on the mixture of “VeroWhite” and “TangoBlackPlus” materials, results in a gray, neither completely stiff nor completely flexible construction
arose.
Additionally, very soft, linear elements follow the surface and assure protection, skid resistance, and a comfortable haptic, when applied around the luminaire.
This can be turned, laid or hung up in different positions. The optical appearance or the desired effect can be defined by the user.
The design should have the potential, arising from the PolyJet production process, to exhibit geometrically on the one hand, but also to display the different properties of the material combination in terms of rigidity, reflexion and feel of the surface.