Exhibit displays transformable building designs by students

Texas A&M students explore transformable design, structures that can change form or configuration, in an exhibit through Sept 25 in at the [J. Wayne Stark Galleries] (http://uart.tamu.edu/stark) in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus. An exhibit reception is scheduled 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.

The exhibit, “TRANS: Adaptive Thought, Design and Fabrication,” consists of pieces created in a spring 2015 studio led by Negar Kalantar, assistant professor of architecture.

Still in its formative stages, transformable design could ultimately deliver buildings equipped to meet occupant’s changing needs, respond to environmental changes, or change their appearance.

The exhibits, designed by seven two-student teams, include structural concepts and shading system prototypes that employ louvers that move to heighten protection from sunlight. The student teams built their designs in the college’s [Automated Fabrication & Design Lab] (http://fablab.arch.tamu.edu/) .

“In the studio, students studied different aspects of transformable design,” said Kalantar. “Students learned how the concept of motion can be oriented toward shaping a better built environment, and how this concept can be applied to suit different technical, economic, and cultural considerations.”

The exhibit also features designs by students in a spring 2015 studio led by Alireza Borhani.