Fabric structures employ stress and compression forces when used to create spaces. Within in my studio project, it’s a collection of many funnel like forms; it consists of a few large funnels and a handful of small funnels that come off of the large funnels. To exhibit and exaggerate the forces that are present within the fabric, I would like to employ a lighting system that reacts to human interaction. Lining the bottom of the fabric would be LED lights that would react to human occupation and interaction. The funnel would glow red tot he rhythm of a heartbeat when it is “alone”. This red beating glow will grab the attention of any passer-byer and invite them in. When a human occupies the space within the funnel, it will glow a serene blue, calming the occupant. Once inside, the occupant has the ability to interact with the fabric funnel. When the funnel is pulled down towards the floor, the lights would glow according to the stress employed. The colors for the stresses range from blue to red, blue being the least amount and red being the most.
IR Break Beam Sensors would be at the bottom of the funnels, break beam sensors are good for sensing motion. When a person steps into the fence and breaks the beam sensor, it would trigger the serene blue glow. A Soft Potentiometer from Plug&Wear would also be used to translate and transfer the forces from the fabric. The potentiometer is an adjustable resistor/slide potentiometer that measures resistance that varies from ~100 ohms to ~80 ohms. The potentiometer would be connected to the LED lights, therefor any stresses employed on the fabric will be directly in relation to the color of the LED lights.
This sort of code allows users and occupants to interact with the space and also gives them the opportunity to understand forces that are applied to the structure that they are occupying. This sort of interactive structure can be utilized in many other systems as well. Many other structures can easily exhibit the forces that are applied to it through lighting or possibly sound, if applicable.