Dispositions and Design Patterns for Architectural Robotics

Abstract

Embedding robotics in an architectural work lends the work a semblance of vitality: the capacity to move with and respond to things external to it. It is this capacity that defines Architectural Robotics (AR) and, potentially, forges more interactive, more intimate relationships between our physical surroundings and us. Will human beings be prepared to inhabit this whirling space of physical bits and digital bytes? Assuming an optimistic view, this chapter offers a response, drawing from art and art history, environmental design, literature, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, to identify wide-ranging dispositions in humans for such “new places” of human-machine interaction. Additionally, this chapter offers a formal taxonomy of design patterns for AR. Research from the author’s lab serve as design exemplars for future work by other design researchers.