In 1927, Stuttgart's renowned Weissenhof Estate presented the public with a glimpse of what we now refer to as modern architecture. 100 years later, the International Building Exhibition (IBA) returns to Stuttgart and reintroduces the question of how we both envision and implement the transformation of our cities in the light of today's challenges and opportunities. IBA'27 will accompany this process through a series of three dedicated festivals, starting this year and continuing until 2027.
CHANDELIER'1244 represents ICD's contribution to the first festival of IBA'27. It is located in the world's first adaptive high-rise building, D1244, which is situated at the university campus in Stuttgart. Here, adaptivity refers to load bearing structures designed to self-balance in response to external influences, much like a human body would reflexively brace itself against strong winds.
This concept of adaptation unlocks significant resource savings compared to conventional structures and, moreover, embodies a radical reconception of buildings: from ones that merely withstand loads to ones that actively respond to them. The fact that such responses are imperceptible to the human eye, however, prevents the general public from comprehending this technology. CHANDELIER'1244 intends to address this limitation by - quite literally - shedding light on the inner workings of adaptive structures.
The installation comprises a pair of quasi-identical truss structures: one serving as an adaptive bench structure equipped with sensors and actuators for the detection and redistribution of loads resulting from the visitor's occupation; the other hovering above, serving as a light sculpture (a.k.a. chandelier) that illuminates the thoughts and actions of its occupied counterpart in real-time. By means of this setup, visitors can visually observe the extent to which they impact the structure, and at the same time, how it adjusts its load-bearing behavior in response. Through this direct interaction between structure and occupant, we seek to engage visitors in academic research on new ways of conceiving our built environment.
For more information on the festival, please visit: https://www.iba27.de/en/home/
More information on the associated research project can be found here.
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