On the synergy of experimental work and the development of foundational definitions in practice-based research: Towards a new understanding of Interactive Flesh of Architecture

Other conference contribution, 2018

This presentation reflected on what basic research entails in the context of an artistic design research project Architectural Convertibles, funded by the Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsrådet. The inquiry, positioned within the field of interactive architecture design, revisits the notion of architectural Flesh: a conceptual metaphor countering the reductive understanding of architectural substance as thin, flat skin, and instead revisiting it as a thick, voluminous entity. By taking as point of departure the views on skin and Flesh from contemporary design theory, we presented how we developed our new definition of Flesh, established how it could differ from skin and what its voluminous and tangible properties could introduce from the standpoint of designing and experiencing interactive architectural environments. Our presentation has sought to illustrate or process of seeking for that new definition through material practice of digital crafting, embedded within the experimental artistic research tradition. Accordingly, we demonstrated a system of design experiments that allowed us to probe the concept of Flesh from various expressive standpoints. During our presentation, we discussed a selection of these experiments and their artifacts, together with an outline of accompanying research conclusions and an outlook for the future development of the work.