Teng Teng
← Research

2015

Transformable Physical Design Media

A tangible modeling interface links physical massing changes to digital geometry and environmental feedback.

Research question
How can physical manipulation remain connected to computational evaluation during design?
My role
Led CuBe’s interface and research-prototype development at the University of Washington.
CuBe brings building information into the same tabletop space as the physical massing models.

Working prototypes and video demonstrate tracked movement, deformation, and projected shadow and wind-field feedback. View evidence ↓

CuBe is a tangible toolkit for architectural massing studies. I led its development at the University of Washington’s Design Machine Group. Designers move, rotate, twist, and stretch physical models while the system tracks their position or deformation and updates digital geometry. The prototypes give the hands a physical reference and bring building information and environmental visualizations into the working space. The work was published in Transformable Physical Design Media at eCAADe 2015.

CuBe in use

Prototype demonstration: physical manipulation and projected feedback share one working surface.

A tracked tabletop

A camera beneath the translucent tabletop reads markers attached to the models. reacTIVision and Processing pass position and orientation data through UDP to Grasshopper; a projector returns visual information to the table. This arrangement lets designers move physical objects while maintaining their digital representation.

From fixed blocks to changing geometry

The first toolkit uses fixed cube, keystone, and tapered forms to study placement and orientation. A second toolkit adds a twisting, height-adjustable block: rotational and sliding potentiometers measure its deformation and drive a matching digital model.

Tangible model families

Fixed massing objects and a deformable twisting block. Figures 10–11 from Transformable Physical Design Media, eCAADe 2015.

Reconstructing a deformable frame

A third prototype uses ten adjustable members, including two diagonals, and four fixed members. Sliding potentiometers measure member lengths; a microcontroller supplies the data for trigonometric reconstruction of the geometry. Lengthening or shortening the frame changes the proportions of the corresponding digital model.

Measured changes in the physical frame are reconstructed as digital geometry.

Feedback during massing studies

Building height, floor count, and area remain associated with the objects as they move. Shadow studies respond to model position, sun position, and deformation of the twisting block. A projected wind-vector field updates with changes in the arrangement of the models, making the effect of a design move visible on the work surface.

Shadow studies

Projected shadows connect the position of the physical models with the digital study.
Changing the height and twist of the physical block updates its digital geometry and shadow.

Wind-field feedback

The wind-field visualization changes with the placement and orientation of the massing objects.

Shared physical and digital design

The deformable frame also supports discussion around a physical model while retaining a digital record of its geometry. The 2015 paper presents CuBe alongside InSpire, connecting tangible manipulation and gesture-based modeling within the same investigation of physical design media.

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