xeromax (phoenix)
XEROMAX, Phoenix AZ
XERO: meaning dry; extremely arid (pronounced “zero”).
MAX: to the greatest or furthest degree; totally.
XEROMAX is a prototype for desert living; calibrated, tuned and responsive to its desert habitat. It is an adaptable, mutable and variable desert ecology. Contrary to current trends in desert suburban development, XEROMAX is a porous, permeable and evolving habitat in synchronicity with its surroundings – hyper situated, indigenous and local. XEROMAX responds to the DNA of the desert: wind direction, solar orientation, temperature, sand. XEROMAX attempts to reconcile two antithetical and disparate conditions that define modern desert living: extreme climate and extreme sprawl. How can the intense heat, aridity, and blistering sunshine of the desert be reconciled with the vast expanses of single-family homes cooled by central air, surrounded by golf courses, and bordered by artificial lakes? Can the synthetic recombination of these extreme conditions spawn productive new hybrids of desert living machines, landscapes and ecologies?
The exhibition includes a series of drawings, study models, and the XEROMAX Robot [XR]. XR is a working prototype for a responsive architectural system and interface. The XR model weaves ultra thin shape-memory alloy activated truss modules, arrays of infrared edge sensors with customized LCD display. It is part kinetic structure, part experimental interface, and part analytical drawing instrument. In addition to adapting in real-time to shifting conditions in the gallery, XR’s metaheuristic behavior gains intelligence, spatial complexity and richness over time.
Project Credits: Nataly Gattegno + Jason K. Johnson
Joy Wang was instrumental during design development and contributed greatly to the project. The XEROMAX research and exhibition was generously supported by the University of Michigan Fellowships in Architecture program 2008-09. We would also like to thank (in alphabetical order): Brad DeVries, Robin Dripps, Michael Hopkins, Miko, David Malda, William R. Morrish, Jae Oh, Lucia Phinney, Richard Tursky, Natalie Wiersma, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Tom Buresh, the TCAUP Research Through Making Grant, the Graham Foundation, and MIGA Motors in Berkley, CA.
“In a landscape where nothing officially exists, absolutely anything becomes thinkable, and may consequently happen …” [Reyner Banham, Scenes in America Deserta]
XEROMAX Exhibition Opening images (below) from the 4/09/09 UMich TCAUP Fellow’s Show with Britt Eversole’s installation This Time is out of Joint.