“Metastable Aether: Systems for Living Architecture”

Monday, October 19, 5:00 p.m. est

Lee Harris Pomeroy ’55 Lecture

EMPAC Theater

Philip Beesley Studio (PBS) is an interdisciplinary design company located in Toronto, Canada. PBS specializes in architectural design of public buildings, public art and experimental installations. The group is closely associated with the multi-partner Living Architecture Systems Group, the School of Architecture and Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, and Riverside Architectural Press. Sculptural work in the past two decades has focused on immersive textile environments, landscape installations and intricate geometric structures. The most recent generations of these works feature interactive sound, light and kinetic mechanisms with distributed control systems. Studio research focuses on aesthetics, technology and craft of responsive envelope systems including digital fabrication of extremely light-weight, flexible component arrays containing embedded sensors and actuators.

Projects are developed at widely varying scales from urban design to personal couture, using cycles of multidisciplinary experimentation and implementation. The studio’s design methods combine the durable crafts of heavy machining and building with advanced digital visualization, industrial design, digital prototyping, electronics and mechanical engineering.

A notable recent project from PBS is Aria: Sentient Constellation, installed at TU Delft Science Center. This multi-year project frames a permanent installation of public art on the campus of TU Delft, presented in cooperation with the municipality of Delft, TodaysArt, numerous artists from the Netherlands and Canada, and educators in STEAM. This project is working in close collaboration with TU Delft’s Architecture and Engineering departments and multiple Canadian research contributions. A new LASG sculpture and testbed will be installed at the entry of the new Science Centre facility. The project will act as a public beacon that gathers the public, expressing a sustainable, inclusive vision of future design. This building provides a public face to the University, located at the boundary of the Delft Campus with the city. This site provides strategic connections to the campus and city. The location also relates to a large cluster of experimental architectural structures featuring next-generation construction, alternate energy sources and sustainable material systems. The prominent central location will present views to the exterior that reach out and along the green lawn that connects the Science Centre to the main circulation spine of the University and areas of the city of Delft. To the interior, the installation will lead to areas for evolving student design explorations and additional workshop-based activities.

We look forward to seeing you at this lecture.

https://www.philipbeesleystudioinc.com/