These mechanisms offer great design freedom, however they are only mobile if certain constraints are met. For this design studio we are going to implement a dedicated Rhino/Grasshopper plug-in that will ensure these constraints are fulfilled. This tool will allow to systematical design functional mechanisms to meet specifications and design and goals. The final mechanism could, for example, allow the precise tracking of the sun to optimize natural lighting  of an interior room. The design studio will include an ‘internal’ competition looking for applications of closed chain linkages in architecture. While digital design tools will play an important role during this studio experiments and validations done by building physical models will be a very important complement. We are going to use computer controlled machines like Laser cutting, rapid prototyping, CNC milling, etc. to create high quality functional models.

Articulated structures are of great interest in architecture for multiple reasons. We are going to investigate the fundamental questions and problems that the design of articulated systems, changing over time, raise. To allow the in depth examination of the subject we are going to focus on one special type of mechanism as well as on one application. Closed chain linkages form the basis for the design project. The best known example of such a linkages is the ’invertible cube’ [1] by Paul Schatz. In the linkage the six parts of cube are connected by rotary joints to form a closed chain. We are going to take a closer look at closed chains with six joints without limiting ourselves to rotary joints (we also allow prismatic joints generating translations).

Students will likely work in groups of two.

Attendances will given the opportunity to enroll in the exercise Architectural Model Making II (264.031, 4 ECTS)  and build the study and presentation models of this design studio.

To attend the studio basic knowledge of Rhinoceros and Grasshopper is required. Experience in programming is of advantage but not mandatory.