Location

Wiesner Room

Description

The capacity to transform is a trait of all living organisms. In his talk, Chuck Hoberman will demonstrate how designed objects can behave like organisms, transforming their size and shape in a complete, continuous manner. Hoberman will speak about his theory of transformability, and describe his work in deployable shelters, consumer products and medical instruments.
Hoberman will also discuss how his practice is applying the principles of transformable design to architectural projects. This work is enabling a new level of adaptive performance in buildings, with the goal to reduce energy consumption, enhance occupant comfort and better optimize space use.
Hoberman's ongoing collaborative projects with firms such as Foster + Partners, Nikken Sekkai and others will be presented. The talk will demonstrate the rule-based design of transformable structures, and will explore how parametric techniques facilitate the creation of movable, multi-state transformable systems for buildings. Analysis techniques, integration methods into fixed architecture and manufacturing options will be discussed.

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. Such capabilities lead to functional benefits: portability, instantaneous opening, and intelligent responsiveness to the built environment. Hoberman is the founder of Hoberman Associates, a multidisciplinary practice with clients ranging across sectors including consumer products, deployable shelters and space structures. The firm is collaborating with architects such as Foster + Partners, Kohn Pedersen Fox, SHoP, Nikken Sekkei and others. For these projects, Hoberman is developing retractable facades, responsive shading and ventilation, operable roofs and canopies. Examples of his commissioned work include the Hoberman Arch in Salt Lake City, Utah, installed as the centerpiece for the Winter Olympic Games (2002). Other noteworthy commissions include a retractable dome for the World's Fair in Hanover, Germany (2000), the Expanding Hypar (1997) at the California Museum of Science and Industry, and the Expanding Sphere (1992) at the Liberty Science Center, Jersey City, and the Expanding Geodesic Dome (1997) at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Hoberman's work has been exhibited several times at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 2008 his commissioned installation, "Emergent Surface," was part of the exhibit, "Design and the Elastic Mind." He holds a bachelor's degree in sculpture from Cooper Union and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. He won the Chrysler Award for Innovation and Design in 1997.

Host/Chair: (Unpublished) Amanda J. Parkes