Design ecologies for responsive environments: Resonant chamber, an acoustically performative system

Abstract

This paper positions the development and performance of a responsive acoustic envelope system, called Resonant Chamber, within discourses in ecology, systems theory and cybernetics. The project is described through two dominant threads. First, a synthetic design process that entails engaging simultaneous computational and physical investigations which inform each other through various feedback and control regimes - from simulation and testing frameworks to material limits and behaviors to geometric, technological and manufacturing limitations or constraints. Second, the paper elaborates on the embedded communication, feedback and actuation systems that transform its performance as a kinetic, responsive environment, allowing for the possibilities of active acoustic control and open-ended interaction with inhabitants. Throughout the process, the designer operates in an adaptive mode; dynamically shaping possibilities, navigating digital, physical and effective logics, constraints, behaviors and opportunities.