Interactive architecture refers to the branch of architecture which deals with buildings featuring the trio of sensors, processors and effectors, embedded as a core part of its nature and functioning. Interactive architecture encompasses building automation but goes beyond it by including forms of interaction engagements and responses that may lay in pure communication purposes as well as in the emotive and artistic realm, thus entering the field of Interactive art .
A notable historical precedent for this kind of thinking is architect Cedric Price’s 1976 Generator Project proposal for the Gullman Paper Corporation’s retreat in Florida. The Generator, a collection of interchangeable parts integrated into a computer system, allowed for rapid changes of arrangement and configuration. Recognizing that boredom is a characteristic of intelligence, Price proposed for the Generator to make suggestions regarding its own reorganization.
MArch Design for Performance and Interaction - The first dedicated masters programme for Interactive Architecture is opening at the Bartlett School of Architecture in October 2017 directed by Ruairi Glynn