MEC-ART

MecArt Researchers are concerned with the design of geometry of motion. We aim at proving the applicability of kinematic methods into the design process of the adaptable space organizations through the kinetic building parts. In order to achieve our aim, a new type of design approach must be derived with an interdisciplinary study between architecture, civil engineering and mechanical engineering.

Kinetic building parts are exceptional to the architectural field where objects are conventionally static, use of them is often singular and responsive spatial adaptability is relatively unexplored. Our intuition accepts buildings stationary. In the static perfection of the modernist architecture, structure seems to have no response but to stand mute. Architecture stands at the threshold of a new evolution. Charles Darwin has suggested that the problem of survival always depends upon the capability of an object to adapt in a changing environment. This theory holds true for architecture.

Architectural applications in responsive kinetic architecture arise from issues of spatial efficiency and adaptability. An adaptable space flexibly responds to the requirements of any human activity. Adaptability may range from multi-use interior re-organization to complete structure transformability. Kinetic function in building parts provides that the objects in the built environment are physically present only when they are necessary, and disappear or transform when not needed. This is to suggest that a new aesthetic, a new concept of form, is inherent in responsive architecture.

Keywords: Kinetic architecture, deployable structures, retractable structures, origami, adaptability, mechanisms.