Responsive System A year 2 design project to design a system that responds to its environment.

Module Lead

Franziska Conrad

Teaching Team

Dr Lyndon Buck
Gary Underwood
Dr Hazel Mitchell
Elana Nerwich

The Responsive Systems Project is a team- based design project in which students develop and test environmentally responsive mechanical systems for public and shared spaces. Combining mechanics, electronics, environmental sensing, and embedded programming, students create adaptive installations using Arduino-controlled sensors, actuators, and fabricated structures that respond intelligently through purposeful movement.

Projects focus on environmental adaptation, behavioural interaction, and mechanical integration, with systems responding autonomously to stimuli such as light, sound, airflow, temperature, or proximity. Example applications include adaptive canopies, responsive barriers, and climate-reactive shelters. The project emphasises sustainability, accessibility, durability, and user experience, while assessment focuses on responsiveness, movement quality, system integration, and iterative prototyping and refinement.