We recently caught up with MIT Lecturer and TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits before he headed out to Ars Electronica as a recipient of the [The Next Idea]: Voestalpine Art and Technology Grant for his collaborative project Hyperform.
Tibbits’ Self-Assembly Lab is housed within MIT’s International Design Centre, a joint research hub with Singapore’s University of Technology and Design. Taking a cue from complex natural systems such as protein folding and DNA replication, the lab focuses on creating self-assembling technologies for large-scale structures in our physical environment. These self-assembling forms require no electronics to change shape, as they rely on geometry, materials, and natural energy to transform. With the materials themselves containing the instructions for their own fabrication, self-assembly could potentially revolutionize the face of manufacturing.
Photos by Elizabeth Woodward.
Photo of “MIT” folded strand by Skylar Tibbits.