This project proposes a new kind of canopy that’s capable of interacting with human movement and density in Los Angeles. Street fairs, block parties, art walks are potential settings. How can architecture respond to these kinds of cultural activities within the city? Can we rethink how people interact with the environment and vice versa? I want to imagine architecture as a living creature, surviving on its own, walking, breathing, and taking on a life of its own.
Consequently, this leads to an architecture that is not only inspired by movement, but actually moves. The form takes new shapes, responding directly to its context and interactions with people simultaneously.
Information from cameras located in the streets gives the creature feedback so it can move and respond to people. The canopy is powered with the energy of the sun, adapting to the environment. Taking cues from biological organisms, it is driven by four major spines that move with mathematically determined frequency, alternating its curvature and allowing two curves to touch the ground with multiple points at any one time, thereby keeping its balance. As a result, hour by hour and day by day the structure proceeds gradually down the street bringing new forms of life to the city.
