Self-Moving Materials and Artifacts
university
Köln International School of Design, Cologne
together with
In Nature we already find dynamic materials that directly respond to changes in their environment (e.g. humidity or temperature). The energy for the movements is either stored directly in the material itself or is made available through the environment. Based on these natural substances and their changes, the students studied self-moving materials and their possible applications in design. Through experiments they investigated these self-moving materials as dynamic structures and started with the construction of simple devices to cause the self-movement of materials. Thereby they learnt basic physical principles such as the use of gravity or inertia. In addition, various chemical reactions were used to trigger further actions.
In the project the focus was on the transformation and conversion – space, time and substantial – of materials itself. Based on this experience, the students designed material systems, their changes and regulations as a response to environmental influences.
Finally there was a public exhibition of the ongoing material research at KISDparcours 2015.
