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

| Jan 3, 2012

AIA Course: New Developments in Concrete Construction

Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.

| Jan 3, 2012

The Value of Historic Paint Investigations

An expert conservator provides a three-step approach to determining a historic building’s “period of significance”—and how to restore its painted surfaces to the correct patterns and colors. 

| Jan 3, 2012

28th Annual Reconstruction Awards: Bringing Hope to Cancer Patients

A gothic-style structure is reconstructed into comfortable, modern patient residence facility for the American Cancer Society.

| Jan 3, 2012

Art Gensler: Still Making a Difference for Clients Every Day

After running what is today the largest architecture firm in the world for more than four decades, M. Arthur Gensler, Jr., FAIA, FIIDA, RIBA, is content to be just another employee at the firm that bears his name. 

| Jan 3, 2012

Gensler: 'The One Firm Firm'

The giant architecture firm succeeds by giving each of its more than 3,000 employees the opportunity for career growth and professional leadership. 

| Jan 3, 2012

Rental Renaissance, The Rebirth of the Apartment Market

Across much of the U.S., apartment rents are rising, vacancy rates are falling. In just about every major urban area, new multifamily rental projects and major renovations are coming online. It may be too soon to pronounce the rental market fully recovered, but the trend is promising.

| Dec 29, 2011

OSHA enforcing new fall hazard standards

OSHA is enforcing its new fall protection standards, as evidenced by a recent crackdown in New York.

| Dec 29, 2011

Decision not to fireproof the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub criticized

Some criticized the decision, reasoning that the structure could be a terrorist target.

| Dec 29, 2011

Seismic safety in question at thousands of California public schools

California regulators responsible for enforcing earthquake safety laws have failed to certify more than 16,000 construction projects in California public schools, increasing the risk that some projects may be unsafe, according to a state audit report.

| Dec 29, 2011

GreenWizard offers cloud-based LEED credit management, assessment

The company recently began offering companies the ability to run assessments for design credits, in addition to traditional product-specific LEED credits.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category



Urban Planning

The magic of L.A.’s Melrose Mile

Great streets are generally not initially curated or willed into being. Rather, they emerge organically from unintentional synergies of commercial, business, cultural and economic drivers. L.A.’s Melrose Avenue is a prime example. 


Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 

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