Responsive Architecture: User-centered Interactions within the Hybridized Model of Control

In the September 1969 issue of Architectural Design, Andrew Rabeneck wrote about the use of cybernetic devices within an automated architecture. He hypothesized that the concept of “flexibility” was introduced to architecture because existing building technologies were inherently inflexible. He argued that architects should use cybernetic technologies to produce completely new types of increasingly flexible, user-centred, buildings. Three years later, Yona Friedman wrote about the changing relationship between clients and architects. He said that a new design methodology was needed because architects could not assess the future spatial needs of building users accurately enough. Proposing a new model, he split architectural design in two complementary halves, hardware design and software design, reasoning that this would give users the opportunity to adapt built spaces to suit their needs. Both of these ideas describe approaches to the production of an architecture that can change shape and configuration in response to changing patterns of use. Rabeneck's approach illustrates the benefit of predictive technologies and automation, while Friedmanis model illustrates the benefit of user intervention and direct manipulation. This paper discusses developments in the field of responsive architecture in relation to two opposing user-centred interaction methodologies. It proposes methods for controlling responsive buildings and suggests that human computer interaction methodologies need to be re-thought and extended when applied within intelligent, responsive, architectures