Interactive Models

UCLA IDEAS Technology Studio Fall 2016

Research Lead: Guvenc Ozel 

Instructors: Guvenc Ozel, Benjamin Ennemoser

Technologies: sensor interaction, physical computing, computational design, soft robotics, transforming architectures, telepresence, robotic fabrication, novel materials

Students: Alara Akiltopu, Erik Sven Broberg, Jon Bruni, Yifan Chen, Wai Ching Cheng, Alisha Toni Coelho, Hung The Diep, Qisen Dong, Arta Ghoorchian, Zhe Liang, Jian Liu, Teng Long, Tian Lou, Sana Sultan Nasikwala, Tyson Keen Phillips, Nazli Tatar, Zhuoneng Wang, Jinghao Xue, Yue Yang, Xincheng Ye, Zhiyu Zhang, Junzhishan Zhu

Intelligent Systems as Formal Models:

In order to understand the logics that lead to the formulation of artificially intelligent cognitive and material systems, one first needs to understand the generative nature of contemporary design models and their mathematical foundations. The intent of this studio is to explore the logics and formal outputs of organizational behaviors. Through researching specific terminologies and finding exemplary projects in the fields of digital and interactive art, architecture and industrial design, the students will develop a formal language of interactive motion. The objective of this module is to create a coherent architectural prototype that will act as a formal vessel to fulfill a number of idealized conditions related to hierarchy, structure, program and other architectural criteria. An example to this particular formal transformation would be a surface turning into a volume. The students are encouraged to stick with the abstract nature of the exercise and primarily focus on the formal logics of motion as opposed to architectural typologies or programmatic potential. The end goal is to create an architectural system that can later on be tailored toward a particular context or problem, allowing the system to “self adapt” based on varying parameters.