Two Design Experiments in Playful Architectural Adaptability

This paper presents two design experiments in playful architectural adaptability. The first is a tangible computational interface for the design of artifacts such as chairs. Framed within user-driven customization precedents and literature, it suggests ways in which computation can enable new ways of interacting with design knowledge. The second is an architectural installation that uses biometric data from human bodies to dynamically transform an occupant’s experience of an enclosed space. Documenting the development of a series of prototypes, this experiment outlines an area of design inquiry we term “biometrically-responsive architecture”, linking architectural spaces and the human body in new ways. Combining methods from architecture and computation, and emphasizing open-ended bodily interactions over symbolic transactions and goal-driven optimization, these two experiments outline ways in which architectural artifacts and spaces can interact with human designers and occupants in playful ways.