Architects and engineers use various tools for structural analysis during modeling or construction. However, the representation of such analysis is often on a two dimensional screen. We present our vision of embedding digital elements in the beams and columns used for architectural models and construction, particularly to analyze and display structural information directly on them. This would potentially lead to seamless structural study and engaging human interaction. We developed a prototype of a simple beam that visually depicts axial and bending stress, as external forces are applied to it. Our future vision is for encoding such digital structural feedback into Nanoscale physical objects, leading to scalable digitally encoded building materials for architectural modeling and construction.

References

Dhruv Jain, Graysen Babbitt, Julia Canning, Emma Pearl  and Willmer-Shile. Towards Interactive Force-Sensitive Digitally Encoded Material for Architectural Models and Construction. 2016. Workshop paper on Future of Human-Building Interaction at the 34th Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. [pdf]