Open Columns is a system of nonstructural columns, made from composite urethane elastomers and can be deployed in a variety of patterns to reconfigure the space beneath them. The system is a mutable architecture that responds to its inhabitants by changing its shape based upon the carbon dioxide (CO2) content in the air. It is capable of learning about its environment by directly acting within it. The genesis of this research and design comes out of an interest in self-organizing systems, which exhibit phenomena of nonlinearity, instability and adaptability.

Open Columns is part of a research project exploring computationally inspired and augmented materials for responsive architecture.

Omar Khan (director), Laura Garofalo, Joseph D'Angelo, James Brucz, Nick Bruscia, Brian Clark, Dennis Cook, Raf Godlewski, Ashley Latona, Brian Podleski, Vail Rooney, Mike Wysochanski