As designers and engineers, we see endless possibilities within every project we work on, however, there are limitations and constraints we must work with—one being the landscape. But what if there was a way to physically change the landscape and incorporate movement that could range from adjustable seating, to movable trees, to plazas that adjust to the users needs?

LandDesign’s MatterLab grant recipient and this year’s first-place award-winner, Rachael Shields recognized the potential of kinetics in manipulating the landscape beyond plan drawings or even 3D modeling. Incorporating movement and time into design, Rachel leveraged Arduino and C++ code to program a movable and adjustable prototype of a fully adjustable kinetic topography that allows for real-time modification. On this episode of Pragmatic Visions, we spoke with Rachael about the inspiration for her research, her experience learning to code, and aspirations for the application of this technology on projects she works on. #designpodcast #researchanddevelopment

http://www.rmshields.com/#/prototyping-movement/