Kinetic architecture: types, basic elements, examples, architects

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Kinetic architecture is a special direction that involves the design of buildings in such a way that their parts can move relative to each other without interrupting the overall integrity of the structure. This view is also called dynamic, and it is considered one of the directions of the architecture of the future. The mobility of a building's structure base can theoretically be used to enhance the effect of its aesthetic features, response to environmental influences, and perform functions that would not previously be characteristic of a building with a standard structure. Options for the direct application of this type of architecture increased dramatically at the end of the 20th century. The latest achievements in the field of electronics, mechanics, and robotics played a decisive role in this.

History of direction

The simplest forms of kinetic architecture have been used since the Middle Ages. For example, these were drawbridges. But only in the last century did mass discussions begin among architects.the probability of movement and that part of the buildings that remained above the ground.

The idea that kinetic architecture is the architecture of the future was expressed in the first third of the 20th century thanks to the Futurist movement. It was then that books and monographs began to appear in large quantities, in which drawings and plans for the movement of buildings were detailed. The most notable of these was the book by the Soviet architect Yakov Chernikhov, which was published in 1931.

It is worth noting that at the very beginning of the 20th century this type of architecture was purely theoretical. It was not until the 1940s that the innovators decided on practical experiments. Although it is worth recognizing that their very first experiments in this direction were often unsuccessful. Among the pioneer practitioners who began to implement the foundations of kinetic architecture was, for example, the American Richard Fuller.

In the 1970s, civil engineer William Zook inspired a new generation of young architects to design a variety of moving buildings. Due to new theories, including the development of Fuller about the essence of Tensegrity and his research in the field of robotics, transforming buildings began to appear around the world since the 80s.

In 1989, Leonidas Mejia developed a concept in this area, aimed at mobile structures. Mejia's pilot project was soon launched, with movable building parts and renewable resources.

Views

By the beginning of the 21st century, several types of kinetic architecture had formed in the world. Let's talk abouteach one.

1. Specialists refer to the first type as functional buildings. Mostly bridges. Only the central part could rise in them to enable large ships to sail during the navigation period. Other examples of structures of this type include stadiums in the UK - Wembley in London, Millennium in Cardiff - which are equipped with a retractable roof. The sports facility "Veltins Arena" in Gelsenkirchen in Germany has the same design. Moreover, it also has a retractable field.
2. The next option is a kind of transformers. They have an attractive appearance and are able to change their shape at the same time. A classic example is the Burke Brise soleil on the grounds of the Milwaukee Museum of Art in America, which is shaped like a bird. It is important that, in addition to aesthetic value, it also has a functional aspect, as it shelters people from inclement weather and the scorching sun.
3. The third type of kinetic architecture is fundamentally different from the previous ones in that the movement occurs directly on the surface of the building. A striking example is the Arab World Institute in the French capital. This building has metal shutters that work on the principle of a diaphragm, that is, the gaps can narrow or widen depending on the sunlight.
4. Finally, the last type combines modern technology with an environmental theme. Such buildings can generate energy from the power of the wind to provide themselves with the necessary power. An examplecan serve as a skyscraper by Italian architect David Fisher. By rotating the floors around their axis, the turbines located between the floors catch the wind, converting it into electricity.

Peculiarities of development in Russia

In our country today, kinetic architecture is poorly developed. Although just domestic architects were among the first who tried themselves in this area, tried to bring to life the "architecture of the future". So, in 1920, Vladimir Tatlin created a model of the tower of the Third International. It was supposed to become a kind of symbol of the new world. Due to the original function, form, as well as the materials used - glass, iron, metal, steel.

The tower was conceived by Tatlin in the form of a spiral, which was supposed to twist, rising to a height of about 400 meters. Its main distinguishing feature should be rotating geometric structures. The first was to be a cube that would rotate 360 degrees in one year. A cone was placed in the central part (it would turn around in one month). At the very top, there was a place for a cylinder that would make a revolution every day. This project was never realized.

Now in Russia only the first type of this architecture is being actively cultivated, functional buildings are being designed. These include stadiums with retractable pitches and roofs, as well as drawbridges. Other destinations are not represented at all.

Leader of the Soviet avant-garde

Konstantin Melnikov -one of the most famous domestic architects who developed the principles of this type of architecture. In the 20-30s, he was one of the leaders of the avant-garde movement.

Konstantin Melnikov was born in Moscow in 1890. He received his early education at a parochial school. In 1904, he passed the exams in art disciplines at the Moscow School of Sculpture and Architecture, but could not pass the exam in Russian.

For a whole year after that, he intensively studies with home teachers, who were provided to him by the scientist and engineer Vladimir Chaplin, who took patronage over the young talent. Having successfully passed the exam for the following year, he studied for a total of 12 years, becoming a graduate in the departments of painting and architecture. The last one he graduated in 1917.

The architect Melnikov declared himself in 1924. This happened at a competition for the construction of the capital branch of Leningradskaya Pravda. Initially, the building area was very small, so it was decided to build it up. The project presented by Melnikov was a 5-storey building, with four floors in it supposed to rotate around its axis, in particular, around a fixed core with an elevator, stairs and communications. The architect said it was a living house.

He didn't win the competition, but he didn't leave his developments. Five years later, he created a project for the monument to Columbus. It appeared to him in the form of two cones. At the same time, the upper cone was a cavity for collecting water, as well as a turbine that generates electricity. Wings on the sideswas supposed to be painted in different colors. Due to this, the monument would always appear in a different color when moving.

Once again, Melnikov used the real movement of the structural elements of the building when creating the project of the theater of the regional Council of Trade Unions on Karetny Ryad Street. His stage could rotate horizontally.

At the same time, the most famous implemented project of the architect Melnikov is the Makhorka pavilion, which was presented in 1923 at a handicraft and industrial exhibition. It was one of the first examples of Soviet avant-garde architecture.

Theorist

Yakov Chernikhov made a great contribution to the development of the theoretical basis for this trend in architecture. He was born in Pavlograd in 1889. In 1914 he graduated from the Art School in Odessa.

Then Chernikhov moved to St. Petersburg, where he learned the basics of painting and architecture under the guidance of Leonty Benois. After graduating from the Academy, he was mainly engaged in the design of industrial complexes and buildings.

In 1927, in Leningrad, he founded a research experimental laboratory for graphing methods and architectural forms. Soon, this laboratory actually becomes his personal creative workshop, in which he, along with colleagues and students, designs and experiments.

In the 1920s and 1930s Chernikhov became famous for the so-called books of architectural fantasies. These are works called "Fundamentals of Modern Architecture", "Designs of architectural andmachine forms", "Architectural fantasies. 101 composition". The last work was just devoted to the kinetic direction in architecture. In it, the author describes in detail the types of architectural design, technical and compositional processes, image methods, types and display techniques, ways of forming creative ideas, key foundations for building so-called architectural fantasies.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Chernikhov worked on graphic cycles, including the projects "Architecture of the Future", "Palaces of Communism", "Architectural Ensembles". At the same time, after the defeat of constructivism, his style was subjected to harsh criticism, as a new approach to architecture was proclaimed in the country. In 1951 Chernikhov died at the age of 61.

French trace

Another prominent representative of this trend in architecture is the Frenchman Jean Nouvel, winner of the Pritzker Prize, which he received in 2008.

He was born in 1945, studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, then continued his education in Paris on a scholarship he won. He opened the first architectural bureau in his career with a friend and like-minded person, Francois Senior, when he was a student. Considered one of the founders in architecture of such movements as "Architectural Syndicate" and "Mars 1976".

The real breakthrough in his work came while working on the building of the Arab World Institute, which was opened in 1987. This project had an important publicpolitical significance, becoming a symbol of partnership between France and 22 Arab states.

The building was built in the Latin Quarter near the Seine. This place in former times housed the Parisian wine yard and the Abbey of Saint-Victor. The southern façade is interestingly decorated, made in a style that mixes modern technology with traditional ornaments. Behind the glass walls you can see a metal mashrabiya. This is a classic element of Arabic architecture, which is a patterned wooden lattice that covers the outside, balconies or windows. They are also used as partitions inside buildings or screens. In this case, mashrabiya works on the principle of a diaphragm. It starts to narrow automatically to let in light in sunny weather.

This building is an example of kinetic architecture. Among other works of the master, the design of the Opera House in Lyon, the Torre Agbar Tower in Barcelona, the reconstruction of the Guggenheim Museum and the Reina Sofia Museum should be noted.

It is noted that Jean Nouvel is a versatile architect who knows how to combine materials, colors and surfaces. His style stands out not only for the integrity of his creative solutions, but also for the way any of his buildings can fit into the surrounding landscape. Nouvel himself admits that he is guided in his work by looking for missing links, trying to place buildings in the right place.

David Fisher

David Fisher is another bright exponent of dynamic architecture. This is what many still call this direction because of the mobility of most objects.

Fischer was born in 1949. He is an Italian of Israeli origin. At 21, he left Tel Aviv for Florence to study architecture.

Fischer currently designs urban centers and buildings around the world, working in the field of building technology, restoring ancient monuments of architecture. He developed a series of rotating towers, which in recent years has become the main feature of kinetic architecture on the planet. He also participates in the construction and development of hotel projects. It was Fisher who founded and leads the Dynamic Architecture Group.

One of his latest notable projects is a revolving building in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. It is worth noting that his work was based on two key concepts. The first is dynamism, when three-dimensional design begins to organically interact with the fourth dimension - time. And the second is a production approach that uses a large variety of prefabricated elements.

Fischer himself notes that dynamic buildings will become a new step in the development of world architecture. This is a special philosophy that changes the look of the routine appearance of most cities. A living house, a building in motion, is a challenge to the architecture familiar to everyone, which was originally based only on gravity.

Rotating Towers

For example, the revolving building project in Dubai has 80 floors. It is assumed thatthe first 20 floors will house offices of all kinds of companies, floors 20-35 will open a chic six-star hotel. Floors from 35 to 70 will be provided for apartments up to 1,200 square meters, and luxury villas will appear on the last ten. It is known that the government of the United Arab Emirates supports Fisher's idea and even funded the development of a special high-speed elevator for residents of electronically controlled villas, which will respond to the movement of the residents' eyes. It is assumed that the building will supply itself with energy, receiving it from the wind and the sun due to photovoltaic panels on the roof and wind turbines. It is possible that there will be even more energy than is required to provide all the needs of this building. In this case, it will be sold. Originally solved acoustic problems due to the shape and modern design of carbon fiber propellers.

The construction of the rotating building is planned by Fischer in Moscow as well. It is planned that it will be a 70-storey skyscraper with a height of about 400 meters. Its total area will occupy about 110 thousand square meters. At the same time, it will not rotate at the base; commercial premises will be placed there, in particular, for offices. On the rotating floors, apartments for we althy citizens will be arranged. Geographically, it should appear in the area of the Third Transport Ring near Moscow City.

Tensegrity

It is worth noting that the concept of tensegrity is at the heart of transformer buildings, which form an important part of this direction of architecture. This term was coined by the Americanarchitect and scientist Richard Buckminster Fuller.

This is a cable-and-rod-based design principle in which the cables work in tension and the rods work in compression. It is important that the rods do not touch each other, but hang in space. Their relative position is fixed by stretched cables. Due to this, none of them works for bending.

Frame structures get the ability to use the interaction of solid members working in compression with composite members working in tension. It is very important that each element operates with maximum economy and efficiency.

Currently, the concept of tensegrity is also used in biological research to explain the processes occurring in cells. It is also used in other modern branches of knowledge. For example, in design, the structure of textile fabrics, ensemble music, the study of social structures, geodesy.

A dream of futurists

In recent years, more and more practical options for using kinetic elements in buildings have appeared in the world. For example, the dream of futurologists is a house that can hide during a tornado.

This problem has long been faced by architects who figure out how to withstand natural disasters. One of the latest proposals is the concept of a dwelling that will not be afraid even of tornadoes that can sweep away everything in its path. The authors attribute their project specifically to kinetic architecture, being sure that it has a great future. At the heart of this conceptlies the so-called turtle mentality, which, in case of danger, hides in a shelter, in this case in a shell.

The house consists of several impressive volumes, some of which are buried in the ground. One of the most voluminous parts is placed on the hydraulic console and, as it were, floats in the air. The outer cladding consists of elements that can be opened or moved if necessary. The material for the cocoon is a sandwich panel, the outer and inner contours of which are made of Kevlar, and in the middle there is a transparent layer.

On the outer side of the skin are mounted photovoltaic cells that transmit data on humidity, temperature, wind direction changes, atmospheric pressure. Processing all the received information, the processor issues a forecast. If it turns out to be unfavorable, for example, there is a possibility of a tornado, an emergency warning system starts to work. After that, the owners start a mechanism that sends the house underground, and a special moisture-resistant membrane protects it from above.

This project is still only under discussion. Its critics point out that the streamlined shape is pointless if during natural disasters the building will still be underground. In addition, the implementation of such an idea in practice will be unreasonably expensive and will not be able to recoup the costs. At the same time, many admit that the concept is interesting, but needs to be improved.