THINGS WITH A LIFE OF THEIR OWN

Flowers open in the morning with the first rays of sunshine. Pine cones release their fruits as soon as the weather is dry enough.
Certain industrial materials, so-called smart materials, behave in a similar way:
Without a motor and complicated mechanics, shape memory wires deform when heated and thus remember their original shape, electroactive films contract under electric current, piezoceramics generate electric current from vibrations and one-side coated veneer moves in the mist.

In explorative experiments, we got to know some of these materials, interacted with them and learned how to control them. Ultimately, the aim was to bring a self-chosen location at the BURG to life, to create a novel interaction that poetically and functionally exploits the creative potential of these intelligent materials. Functional, spatial, material or social-social aspects could be taken as a starting point in order to react by means of sensors, information processing and actuators.
Finally, we presented the awakened BURG to the public with an active tour.