When we received the book Interactive Architecture by Michael Fox and Miles Kemp (published by PA Press), I thought it would be just another compilation of interactive installations and responsive façades… but this book is goes beyond that. A wide selection of projects, ranging from small installations, to programable houses, to large scale intelligent buildings, goes in parallel with a series of writings from different fields (architecture, industrial design, computer programming, engineering, physical computing) which not only covers building or technical aspects of interactive, kinetic and dynamic spaces, but also its sociological, psychological and environmental implications.

Under this approach, the book is a good learning tool to those who are starting to learn and experiment with interactive systems, contextualized and understanding current trends and the integration of new technologies. Even if the actual projects or trends shown on the book render obsolete, the concepts, processes and workflows described here will not.

More after the break.

Every year, a bevy of new phones, games, televisions, and electronic reading devices ride into our lives on a tidal wave of interactive hype. These i-products, while handy, primarily confine their interactivity to the surfaces of screens. Not exactly the kind of “world-changing” transformation we’ve been promised. In Interactive Architecture, authors Michael Fox and Miles Kemp introduce us to a brave new world where design pioneers are busy creating environments that not only facilitate interaction between people, but also actively participate in their own right. These spaces—able to reconfigure themselves in response to human stimuli—will literally change our worlds by addressing our ever-evolving individual, social, and environmental needs. In other words, it’s time to stop asking what architecture is and start asking what it can do.

Interactive Architecture is a processes-oriented guide to creating dynamic spaces and objects capable of performing a range of pragmatic and humanistic functions. These complex physical interactions are made possible by the creative fusion of embedded computation (intelligence) with a physical, tangible counterpart (kinetics). A uniquely twenty-first century toolbox and skill set—virtual and physical modeling, sensor technology, CNC fabrication, prototyping, and robotics—necessitates collaboration across many diverse scientific and art-based communities. Interactive Architecture includes contributions from the worlds of architecture, industrial design, computer programming, engineering, and physical computing. These remarkable projects run the gamut in size and complexity. Full-scale built examples include a house in Colorado that programs itself by observing the lifestyle of the inhabitants, and then learns to anticipate and accommodate their needs. Interactive Architecture examines this vanguard movement from all sides, including its sociological and psychological implications as well as its potentially beneficial environmental impact.

- Princeton Architectural Press, New York

Authors: Michael Fox and Miles Kemp
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Editor: Lauren Nelson Packard
Designer: Jan Haux

Language: English
Cover: Hardcover
Pages: 256
Illustrations: 350 color
Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1 inches
ISBN: 978-1568988368

Index

Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction

Physical Change
Trends in Kinetic Architecture
Ways and Means of Kinetic Motion
Horizons of Kinetic Architecture

Embedded Computation
Trends in Embedded Computation
Ways and Means of Embedded Computation
Horizons of Embedded Computation in Architecture

Project Landscape
Adaptable Space
Living Environments
Working Environments
Entertainment Environments
Public Environments

Environmental Impact
Energy Efficiency
Active Sustainable Solutions
Ephemeralization
Environmental Cognizance

Enhancing and Extending Activities
Mediated Environments
Gerontechnology
Physically Challenged
Active Participation
Coexistence

Sociological and Psychological Implications
Changing Lifestyle Patterns
Behavior Awareness
Building Awareness
Sense of Place
Control of Space
Attachment to Space
Sense of Sound
Sense of Smell
Artistic Initiatives

Design and the Profession
Designing Interactive Systems
Novel Tools and Heuristics
A Pedagogical Approach
Academic Initiatives
Client and User Initiatives
Corporate Initiatives
Economic Feasibility

New Horizons
Technology Transfer
Interface Design
The End of Mechanics
Autonomous Robotics
Biomimetics
Evolutionary Systems
Possibilities and Understandings
The End of the Beginning

“A new epoch has begun!”

Bibliography

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