Project Name: Beyond Mechanics

With Nick Puckett of AltN Research, we directed a workshop at Smart Geometry 2012. Called Beyond Mechanics as a reference to compliant mechanisms, Shape Memory Polymers were produced and tested in the application of Clothing and Cladding systems. More information on the production of SMP can be found here. Shape setting materials provide a new set of potentials for designing dynamics in objects and systems. This type of kinetics goes beyond the traditional scope of actuation by mechanical movements. Unlike traditional kinetic systems that rely on separate and discrete parts working together, we are developing a design discipline of smart material that can create movement through its singular chemistry and geometry. Dynamic materials also promise a break in conceptualizing movement through a model of engineering.

credits:

Alex Dorn, Adam Petela
Marissa Fabrizio, Elizabeth Boone
Daniel Davis, Gustav Fagerstrom
Chuojun He, Marc Hopperman
Daria Kovaleva, Greg Pitts
Zac Potts