PROGRAMMABLE MATERIALS
MATTER MADE MAGIC
WELCOME TO THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PROGRAMMABLE MATERIALS. FROM SELF-ASSEMBLING STRUCTURES TO FUTURISTIC FABRICS, TAKE A PEEK AT THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME…
Words: HAYLEY BENNETT
ICD UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART
ALGORITHMIC ART
Nature takes advantage of the way that wood responds to its environment. We see this when a pine cone falls from a tree and its scales begin to peel open as it dries out, allowing it to release its seeds. It’s a result of the wood’s hygroscopicity – its ability to take up and release moisture – and the predictable change in shape that it undergoes when this happens.
But such shape-shifting behaviour can also be harnessed by humans. Based on an in-depth understanding of how the moisture content and grain direction of wood affects its shape, German architects programmed this ‘climateresponsive’ wooden exhibit to open the bud-like structures on its surface in response to rising humidity levels. The humidity inside its glass housing at the Centre Pompidou art museum in Paris, is tuned to reflect outdoor conditions, so the installation acts as a virtual connection to the city outside.