Videos!!

We have two videos for your viewing pleasure: The first is a video of our sketch model for the initial concept of our swaying building, and the second is the more fleshed-out design for part of our moving facade. Enjoy!

Swaying Building from Jessica Butler on Vimeo.

Sorry this one is sideways!

Facade Configuration from Jessica Butler on Vimeo.

Moving Facade!

Hey guys-
We've finally started implementing our ideas into a fully moving and functioning facade! Our idea first stemmed from using the idea of the four-bar linkage to create a swaying building, but it has now evolved into a building the crumples! It's all based on the angle of the sun and swaying columns, creating a building the gradually crumples into itself over time. Below are the preliminary drawings of the idea:





The structure of the building is mostly straightforward, but we are currently dealing with the issue of how to configure the skin which will move and crumple with the building. We're really excited about the idea, but now we just have to make it work! Below are some photos of the configurations in study models that we have been working out to help visualize the building and facade.


Floors:


South Facade tests:


West Facade test:



Videos of our mechanized tests will be up shortly!

VIDEO!

Finally, here it is: a video of our working chair mechanism!

Chair Mechanism from Jessica Butler on Vimeo.

Today we started really fleshing out ideas for our building, so we will be posting those in the form of sketches and drawings over the weekend. Let's just say it will be interesting!

Arduino Time!

We have finally completed the final model of our chair in both detail model (full scale) and full chair model at quarter scale. But first, here's our process model that we used to figure out our gears:



So here's the final product!










So it's the same concept as before, Person sits, the seat and racks move down which turn the gears that makes everything happen. These first 2 pictures are the "before" state; here's the chair in its final position.






So we have tested it and it does work; there's only a couple of quirks to work out concerning friction, etc. But other than that, we're excited! It's hooked up to the Arduino and Servo (which was wired and programmed much with the help of Josh and Andrew) with a button so that we can rotate it up and down. It's pretty nifty.

Lastly, the full chair model:

Models to Come...

Hi all, so things have been a bit crazy lately with a class trip to the big apple, but here are some images from our Rhino file of our chair! We're moving on to final models of our mechanism, and then we're going to start working on building-scale applications. We've just started working with our Arduinos and it looks like it will be an adventure.




We met with Richard and Simon last Tuesday and came up with a new iteration of the chair, bringing it out of the "box" haha sorry. Pun intended. Hope you like it!

Final proposal?

Progress!

Jess and I are rather satisfied with the direction where going, namely, our "box" chair.










So the premise of this proposal is basically a box which transforms into a chair. Building off of our preliminary concept, the armrests and the back of the chair come into action when a person sits on it. The downward motion of the "button" is connected to a rack and pinion system which then rotate a system of arms/links that will both elevate the armrests and rotate the back of the chair into their final positions.

The idea behind is that, as a box, it would be easier to store and could serve as an additional footstool, small coffee table, etc. We are still discussing ideas concerning whether it would lock into the chair position, the materials, possibilities for ergonomics, shapes, etc. Here are some rough ideas:

Concepts!

So after our brainstorming session, we thought of some ideas:





Firstly, a basic translation of pressure to rotation to linear motion again through linkages. Here, the basic idea is a armrest that will elevate up from below the level of this chair's seat. It will be triggered by the "seatee's" weight utilizing the rack and pinion to rotate one of the linkages to elevate said armrests.

Another,

















We went ahead and tried to apply it onto a larger scale, such as a facade. Here rotating members span horizontally which are then attached to linkages which will orient panels. Through varying the lengths and positions of these linkages, different movements and positions of these panels are possible. Again, we are just exploring possibilities. The last example you see here actually uses a scissor jack system however, in which long screws control the expansion/contraction of the associated linkage system.