My Personal Interests within Interactive Architecture are surrounding Kinetic interaction and adaptive space so I was pleased when Janis Pönisch got in touch about his project Dynamic Terrain. Janis explains below his intentions for the installation and its relatioship with potential future forms of interactive architecture.

“Dynamic Terrain is a dynamic architectonic robotic surface. It demonstrates a possible future of an interactive system that forms our surrounding depending on the action taken by the user. It wants to be a creature that we communicate to and play with. It functions as a skin that holds the human body in a dynamic and creative way. It is an area in which to experience the mix of digital and physical space. It is a surface without a fixed form, its form is virtual, and therefore adjustable and erasable. In a utopia of this prototype we live together with architectural bodies that respond to our actions.” Janis Pönisch

Website

The shape of the surface is controlled by the users through a software interface. A three dimensional wireframe model can be distorted and its topological information is being translated in real time to the physical shape. On the surface are also touch sensors that allow the users to move the control points up and down overruling the software positioning. The surface is made of flexible rubber that is stretched by a metal construction underneath. Eight drilling machines are the powering forces directed by micro controllers that are connected to a computer.