Transformable: Building structures that change themselves

Chuck Hoberman

TUESDAY: December 4, 2012 2:00 P.M. in the H.J.E. Reid Auditorium.

Abstract

Physical transformation is all around us, constant and ubiquitous. Yet designers remain focused on the object as an essentially static thing. How can we understand transformation itself as a parameter that can be shaped, crafted and optimized? Inventor Chuck Hoberman will speak about his pioneering work in the field of Transformable Design, a methodology to create objects that controllably change their size, shape and surface. In his talk, he will give an overview of his techniques to create objects that controllably change their size, shape and surface. These methods are based on his unique, patented structural systems that have inherent modes of transformable behavior (e.g. expansion, surface modulation, shape-morphing).

Speaker

Hoberman is the founder of Hoberman Associates, a multidisciplinary practice that utilizes transformable principles for a wide range of applications including consumer products, deployable shelters and structures for aerospace. His art has been exhibited around the world on many occasions over the last 20 years. Examples of his commissioned work include the transforming video screen for the U2 360° world tour, the Hoberman Arch installed as the centerpiece for the Winter Olympic Games (2002), as well as exhibits at a number of major museums. In 2008, he formed the Adaptive Building Initiative (ABI), with the global engineering firm, Buro Happold. This joint venture develops adaptive technologies for the built environment and has built a series of architectural installations including dynamic facades and operable roofs in the US, Japan and the Mideast. Hoberman holds over twenty patents for his transformable inventions, and has won numerous awards for his designs.