In exploring responsive architecture alongside with phenomenology, I came across this project that was commissioned by Centre Pompidou (in Paris) for its permanent collection. The interesting thing about this project is that Achim Menges and Steffen Reichert (designers) explored architectural systems that responded to climatic changes without any additional technology through the analysis of material behaviour and computational morphogenesis. The result was a system that responds to relative humidity. When the humidity rises, the system becomes porous to allow for ventilation of the moisture saturated air and vice versa. There are more than 4000 geometrically unique elements that were digitally fabricated; however, the system itself does not require technical equipment or energy. The system's responsiveness is rooted in the material system research. The dimensional instability of wood in relation to moisture content is employed to construct this climate responsive architectural morphology.
For me, I find this project intriguing in its innovation to create a responsive architectural system that doesn't require any computation in its function but rather uses computational design research as a tool to explore materiality. That way, the tectonics of architecture is no longer limited to the static nature of the material but has far greater potential to become dynamic in response. This opens up new ways in which architecture can engage the human experience.
http://www.achimmenges.net/?p=5083
