I argue that the experience of architecture, the delight and wonder of finding oneself in beautiful places and spaces resides both in highly designed interactive spaces and events and in spaces from which close functionality has departed or in which close functionality was always transient. I describe the latter as a-functional spaces and places. The combination of transient functionality with a-functional spaces and places is a rich and challenging future for architecture. This paper is an attempt to suggest representations of the way that observers make sense of a-functional spaces and places and representations and models of the way that architects might design them.

The suggested model is not based on an understanding of any one particular space and place. It is derived from Gordon Pask’s description of his understanding of an aesthetically potent environment. The resulting type of architecture is, in principle, similar to both the highly designed architecture and vernacular architecture of the past.

An extreme example is that given by Evans in his description of the architecture of the 15th and 16th century palazzo, where corridors and spaces off them hardly existed, where spaces where all “ en suite” and activity was supported by furniture. The incorporation of “slack” in the design of these spaces and places is critical to their long-term success.

Stephen Gage’s lecture:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Although Vitruvius’s treaties included clocks, waterworks and mobile war machines; architecture is often understood to be an art of space, not of time. Architecture’s traditional role has been the spatial backdrop to social interaction and performance: In the 20th Century, Price’s ‘Fun Palace’, Archigram’s ‘Instant City’, and Fisher’s various ‘Staged Architectures’ challenged this axiom, imagining and constructing architectures that were active kinetic participants in their own right. Increasingly architects enabled by computational technologies are creating spaces that can engage actively within social and performative interactions.

To have a motive, is to have reason behind your behaviour, so how our built environment saturated with computation can sense the world, and make decisions about its behaviour will be discussed.

To be motive, is put behaviour into motion, so I will present my kinetic installations and discuss their context in the long history of architectural automata and the rise of robotic architecture today.

Ruairi Glynn splits his practice between the production of public art installations, teaching, curation and writing.  He is a Lecturer in MSc Adaptive Architecture and Computing and MArch Architectural Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London and MA Textile Futures and MA Industrial Design at Central Saint Martins College, University of Arts London. His blog www.interactivearchitecture.org is the largest online resource dedicated to the territory between interaction and architectural design. He is regularly invited to lecture, run workshops and exhibit his interactive art works internationally, receiving prestigious awards including at the 11th Annual “Concurso Internacional de Arte y Vida Artificial”, Madrid Art Fair. and the ‘European Top Talent Award for Digital Media’, Europrix. He has organised and curated over a dozen conferences, symposiums and exhibitions all centred on the driving influence computation is having on design and research. His latest event www.fabricate2011.org will be held in London in April. For information go to www.ruairiglynn.co.uk

Ruairi Glynn’s lecture:

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As starting point Ruairi characterize kinetic architecture into three distinct conceptual modes of behaviour.

1. Automatic. Single choreographed behaviour following a linear arrangement from beginning to end.

2. Reactive. Multiple choreographic behaviour following non-linear arrangements, triggered by stimuli.

3. Interactive. Un-choreographed behaviours formed through exchange between participants.

Ruairi’s lecture was divided in three parts. The first one where in a mater of introduction he reviewed several inspirational projects from simple time-based interactions to adaptive systems. In the second part a more theoretical basis was elaborated, concepts as Attention, Animism, Perceptual Causality and Puppetry are the basis of his research as an Interactive Architect. In the last part he presented some students projects from the Bartlett Master of Science programme.