Location

MIT Media Lab, E14-633

Description

This talk will not be webcast.

Physical transformation is all around us, constant and ubiquitous. Yet design remains focused on the object as an essentially static thing. How can the designer 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. 

The talk will provide a theoretical overview of the field and present different typologies for transformable systems. He will discuss his methodology to design transformable structures in terms of evolving morphology, structural dynamics, and achieving desired performance criteria.

Hoberman’s work as engineer and builder will also be covered, focusing on the process of realizing inventive concepts at large scale and in the context of highly complex projects.

Biographies

Nowhere do the disciplines of art, architecture, and engineering fuse as seamlessly as in the work of inventor Chuck Hoberman, internationally known for his "transformable structures." Through his products, patents, and structures, Hoberman demonstrates how objects can be foldable, retractable, or shape-shifting. 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 worldwide; 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), and 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 Middle East. Hoberman holds over twenty patents for his transformable inventions, and has won numerous awards for his designs.

Host/Chair: Joi Ito