ASTROCYTE

Interactive and Kinetic Art Installation by Philip Beesley Architects Inc. in collaboration with 4D SOUND, for DX EDIT - Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology, Toronto, Canada (2017)

Computational Design & Generative Forms: ASTROCYTE

Working with Philip Beesley Architects Inc., my role was to strategically design and map the viewer's sensory experience within the ASTROCYTE installation—a large-scale, kinetic, and chemically sensitive environment.

Strategic Vision and Innovation

Pioneering Generative Systems: I developed and created the foundational computational models and generative systems that governed the installation’s responsive behavior and its final form. This demonstrated expertise in translating abstract, biological principles into scalable, buildable physical components.
Behavioral Experience Strategy: I designed detailed behavioral diagrams and experience design proposals that precisely mapped the emotional and physical interactions between the audience and the kinetic elements. The challenge was to ensure the massive installation behaved as a unified, emotionally resonant system.
Cross-Functional Implementation: Successfully bridged complex theoretical design (Grasshopper/parametrics) with clear fabrication constraints, translating complex patterns into assembly requirements to ensure the conceptual vision achieved real-world, interactive implementation.

Impact and Outcome

This project is the very definition of Strategic Alchemy. My work was to give code the language of breath, translating abstract technical data into a structure that felt profoundly alive. The final installation stands as a powerful showcase of mastery: proving that Narrative Design can be coded into a living, physical environment. This is my strategic expertise—to develop systems that awaken the sublime in the human experience.

All images are courtesy of Philip Beesley. The entire team can be found he re

“The work is robust, yet delicate in nature, and this seems to encourage different ways of acting… Observing people interacting with these spaces is quite striking because extraordinarily gentle and respectful responses tend to happen. Have we caused someone to experience a different and perhaps healthier form of interaction?”

— Philip Beesley, CEO, for ArchDaily Magazine

Digital representation of the concept. Image courtesy of Philip Beesley

Designing experiences inside a ‘living’ sculpture

As a Narrative Designer for Astrocyte, the first-generation spherical meshwork construction with interactive light, kinetics and sound developed for DX EDIT: Expo for Design, Innovation & Technology, I was responsible for creating various elements of the installation and the user experience. This immersive environment was installed within an iconic, abandoned space at the waterfront termination of the Don Valley Expressway in Toronto, and featured a floating sculpture comprised of 300,000 components made of thermally-formed acrylic, mylar fronds, electronic sensors, 3D printed lights, inorganic chemicals, and custom glasswork.

In my role, I designed various graphical images that included representations of sequential behavior, overall interaction diagrams, and encapsulation for the sound system and assembly elements. These designs were essential for creating the distributed control systems that activated the sculpture and followed densely bundled circuits formed into branching patterns that resembled a naturally occurring central nervous system within an organism.

I also worked closely with the sound designers from the Netherlands-based collective 4DSOUND, Salvador Breed and Poul Holleman, to create a multichannel soundscape that would envelop and enhance the sculpture's system. This collaboration resulted in a complex system that was able to support varying forces and shifting motions, and respond to viewers' movements with patterns of light, vibration, and multichannel sound.

Overall, my contributions to the Astrocyte installation allowed for the seamless integration of chemistry, artificial intelligence, and immersive soundscapes to create an unforgettable experience for viewers.