flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Giant interactive pinwheel adds fun to museum exterior

Giant interactive pinwheel adds fun to museum exterior

Designer George Zisiadis hopes to transform the way people see public space


By BD+C Staff | February 14, 2014
The pinwheel is driven by hidden microphones and connected motors.
The pinwheel is driven by hidden microphones and connected motors.

Interaction with the outside of a building isn't something that happens often, unless the passerby takes a picture or points out the design to someone else. George Zisiadis wants to change that with his new design for the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History

His proposed design intends to place a 10-foot pinwheel on the side of the building that is connected to tubes in the plaza below. If a person blows in the tube, the pinwheel will start spinning. Zisiadis says that he wants the exterior to have some of the interactive elements that are featured inside the museum. 

"They want people to engage with their art in a very hands-on way, which I find very empowering and inspiring," Zisiadis told Fast Company. "I wanted to extend this idea to the physical structure of the building itself.”

He wants to keep the mechanism driving the pinwheel mysterious in order to make the experience more fun for visitors, but it's pretty simple. When someone blows into the tube, hidden microphones pick up the sound and connected motors then make the pinwheel spin.

Zisiadis hopes that his design will encourage people to interact with the whole building and transform the way they perceive public space.

 

Related Stories

| Dec 18, 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West to be recreated—with LEGO

Containing more than 180,000 LEGO bricks in 11 colors and 120 different shapes, the model measures eight by four feet and is made entirely of standard LEGO parts. 

| Dec 18, 2014

11 new highs for tall buildings: CTBUH recaps the year's top moments in skyscraper construction

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat cherrypicked the top moments from 2014, including a record concrete pour, a cautionary note about high-rise development, and two men's daring feat.

| Dec 18, 2014

International Parking Institute and Green Parking Council collaborate with GBCI

The new collaboration recognizes importance of sustainable parking facility design and management to the built environment.

| Dec 18, 2014

Top 10 sports facilities of 2014: Designboom ranks the year's best projects

The list includes some of the year's epic stadiums, such as World Cup Stadium Arena de Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, and smaller projects, like the Spordtgebouw Sports Centerin the Netherlands. 

| Dec 18, 2014

In response to ultra-open and uber-collaborative office environments

Susan Cain’s bestselling 2012 book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking" has made an impact on how we understand our current workforce, recognizing that at least one-third of the people we work with are introverts, writes SRG Partnership's Susan Gust.

| Dec 17, 2014

USGBC announces 2014 Best of Green Schools honorees

Houston's Monarch School was named the K-12 school of the year, and Western Michigan University was honored as the top higher-ed institution, based on environmental programs and education efforts.

| Dec 17, 2014

ULI report looks at growing appeal of micro unit apartments

New research from the Urban Land Institute suggests that micro units have staying power as a housing type that appeals to urban dwellers in high-cost markets who are willing to trade space for improved affordability and proximity to downtown neighborhoods.

| Dec 17, 2014

11 predictions for high-rise construction in 2015

In its annual forecast, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat predicts that 2015 will be the "Year of the Woodscraper," and that New York’s troubled B2 modular high-rise project will get back on track.

| Dec 17, 2014

Demand softens, but outlook for Architecture Billings Index remains positive

The AIA's Architecture Billings Index for November was 50.9, down from a mark of 53.7 in October. Despite the drop, the ABI continued its seven-month run of positive scores (above 50).

Sponsored | | Dec 16, 2014

Quadcopters save project team $15K in warranty work

On a recent trip to see what technology Todd Wynne and the rest of the team at Rogers-O’Brien Construction have been tinkering with, I had a chance to experience firsthand which new hardware innovations will one day be applied in the AEC space. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021