The Walking Cube Robot That Wants to Be an Animal

The Walking Cube from 1024 on Vimeo.

Pneumatic pistons filled with compressed air bring to life the jerking and convulsing structure titled The Walking Cube, designed by Pier Schnieder, Jason Cook, and Francois Wunschel of 1024 Architecture. It looks like a species held in captivity that learns to move on its own for the first time, which is apt for the notion of pneumatic art, which is a fairly new concept due to its high-maintenance technology.

The cube is composed of 12 pistons mapped to small controllers, taking commands from a motherboard. The motherboard is wired with the same software used to create music, making the entire structure behave as though it’s a musical instrument.

“We wanted something more brutal and bigger,” Cook tells The Creator’s Project. “The software was the hardest challenge. How can you move one edge of a cube without deforming the entire shape?”

Schnieder says they wanted to distort the perception of a square. “We wanted it to move and dance. Manipulate architecture. It’s really like a little animal. Like a little bird who just found out he can move and fly. This little basic object that comes alive.”

Photo by Emmanuel Gabily

See more architectural structures by 1024 Architects here.

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