'Astrocyte' explores how architecture can interact with humans

Philip Beesley's Astrocyte aims to show that architecture can be more than just ornamental. Built from acrylic, mylar, sensors, custom glasswork, 3D-printed lights and using AI, chemistry and a responsive soundscape, it not only invokes emotional reactions but reacts to participants' movements and gestures. The giant, delicate-looking structure (inspired by astrocyte nerve cells), also prompts unusually respectful interactions from human observers. The aerial scaffold structure was part of Toronto's Expo for Design, Innovation and Technology (EDIT 2017), and hosted at an abandoned Unilever soap-manufacturing factory. It was built from 300,000 components by Philip Beesley Architect Inc. (PBAI), in collaboration with Beesley's Living Architecture Systems Group at the University of Waterloo.