Hoberman Associates - News

Architecture and Urbanism: Chuck Hoberman

Issue 2010: 02
Japanese architecture magazine A+U profiles Hoberman's Expanding Video Screen for U2 360, as well as some of our adaptive shading technologies.
Download the printed article as a pdf
Learn more about the magazine

Architectural Record, Hoberman�s "Transformable Design" Gaining Momentum

January 4, 2010
Joann Gonchar, AIA
Read the article at archrecord.com

MoMA adds Hoberman Sphere to its Permanent Collection

The Hoberman Sphere, created in 1991, and in production as a toy since 1995, is considered by many to be an icon of contemporary product design. The �design classic� title is now official; the Museum of Modern Art will soon be adding the Hoberman Sphere to its Permanent Collection.
Additionally, the Hoberman Sphere is being shown in the MoMA exhibition �Action! Design Over Time�. The exhibition investigates the dimension of time in human-made objects, products and interfaces, with the aim of providing a deeper understanding of contemporary design. Action! is curated by Paola Antonelli, also curator of the 2009 exhibition Design and the Elastic Mind, which Hoberman�s Emergent Surface sculpture was commissioned for.
Exhibition opens February 5th. For more info visit MoMA.com

POLA hosts Hoberman retrospective: Living Form

The POLA Museum Annex is hosting an exhibition of Hoberman work. Titled 'Living Form. The Transformable Work of Chuck Hoberman', the show is a retrospective of some of the designs created by Hoberman in the past 20 years.
Images and video of the exhibition can be viewed here.

Hoberman technologies included in Transmaterial 3: A Catalog of Materials that Redefine our Physical Environment

Blaine Brownell�s Transmaterial book series and companion website is a designer�s resource for new materials and innovative applications of materials and technologies. Transmaterial 3, published in February 2010, includes several Hoberman technologies and projects, including:
Hoberman Arch
Adaptive Fritting
Iris Dome
Linear Shading System (Exhibited in Emergent Surface)
Grid Shading System (Exhibited in Aldar Central Market)
Angulated Scissor Linkage (Exhibited in Helicoid and other expanding structures)
Hoberman�s Adaptive Fritting is featured on the companion site, transmaterial.net, and mentioned on Brownell's blog for Architect Magazine.

Chuck Hoberman talks about POLA Ginza and U2360 in an interview for Boards Magazine

As part of his presentation at the Boards Summit on experiential design, Chuck Hoberman spoke with Kevin Ritchie of Boards Magazine about the opening of the POLA building and the Expanding Screen for U2360.
Read the interview in its entirety at Boards Mag online.

Epanding Video Screen for U2 360 wins LDI 2009 Award

Chuck Hoberman and Frederic Oposmer won the Live Design International 2009 Award for Excellence in Video Design and Technology for the Expanding Video Screen, created for the U2 360 Tour. The winners were selected on site at the 2009 Live Design International tradeshow and conference by a panel of industry experts, working in conjunction with the editors of Live Design, with an eye toward the latest in technology.
View the award listings at ldishow.com

Innovative Hoberman facade transforms POLA's new Tokyo headquarters

October 2009 marked the opening of Japanese cosmetics manufacturer POLA's new headquarters in the Ginza district. Hoberman Associates collaborated with architects Yasuda Atelier and Nikken Sekkei to develop an adaptive shading system for the building's fa�ade.
Learn more and view images of the project in Hoberman's portfolio.

Hoberman's Rapidly Deployable Shelter (RDS) is included in a compendium of product design that improves life.

Design Revolution: 100 Products that Empower People, was authored by Project H Design founder Emily Pilloton and includes a foreword by Core77's Allan Chochinov. The book challenges designers to be activists over aestheticians, and highlights over 100 products in 8 categories that show product design's ability to enable individuals, communities, and economies in the developing world and in our own back yards alike.
Learn more about the book and Project H.

ID Magazine: Spheres of Influence

September 14, 2009
Lisa Delgado
For it's September/October 2009 issue focusing on design and play, ID Magazine included a profile on Hoberman Associates. In it, Chuck discusses the arc of Hoberman transformable designs: from toys, to the Expanding Video Screen for U2, to upcoming architectural projects.
Read the article and view the slideshow.

Hoberman and Buro Happold Join Forces to Create the Adaptive Building Initiative

Hoberman Associates and international engineering firm Buro Happold have joined forces to found a new venture, the Adaptive Building Initiative LLC. The company draws together a team of mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, environmental analysts, architects, software engineers, building information modelers and industrial designers: a team dedicated to designing a new generation of buildings that respond in real time to environmental changes.
Explore ABI�s offering of adaptive systems and services, and experiment with their adaptive interactives at www.adaptivebuildings.com.

Gizmodo: Inside U2's Behemoth 74-Ton 360� LED Concert Screen

July 26, 2009
Gizmodo's post of the Expanding Video Screen on its gadget blog.
Read the blog on Gizmodo.com

LiveDesign: The U2 360 Video Screen, Part 1: The Concept and Design

July 20, 2009
Chuck Hoberman and Matthew Davis interviewed by Live Design magazine about the concept, design, and technical execution of the U2 Expanding Video Screen.
Click here to read the article on livedesignonline.com.

LiveDesign, The U2 360� Video Screen, Part 2: How Does It Work?

July 22, 2009
Chuck Hoberman and Matthew Davis interviewed by Live Design magazine about the concept, design, and technical execution of the U2 Expanding Video Screen.
Click here to read the article on livedesignonline.com.

Core77: Hoberman's Transformable Screen for the U2 360 Tour

July1, 2009
Core 77's post of the Expanding Video Screen on its Technology blog.
Click here to read the article Core77.com.

In U2s Grasp: Irish Rock band tours the world using revolutionary stage.

Chuck Hoberman, Frederic Opsomer, Willie Williams, and Mark Fisher talk about the development of the U2 Screen.
Read the article on atU2

U2 360 tour debuts in Barcelona, Spain.

U2 360 tour debuts in Barcelona, Spain, June 30, 2009.
Watch a sneak preview of the tour on Wired.com

Hoberman and Partners Create Ground-Breaking Expanding Video Screen for the U2 360 Tour

Hoberman, in partnership with Innovative Designs and its parent company Barco, has created the centerpiece for the U2 360 tour � the Expanding Video Screen.
Click here to download the press release.
Watch Barco's video, "The Making of a Transformable LED Screen"

MATTER, Shrink Wrap: On the endless appeal of transformable design

Jill Singer chronicles transformable design with both classic and recent products, framed around the ongoing work of Chuck Hoberman, in this article for Material Connexion's quarterly, MATTER.
Read the article on MaterialConnexion.com

Hoberman unveils new technology at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard. On display: March 30 � May 15, 2009

Hoberman�s Adaptive Fritting installation demonstrates a new technology for variable transparency surfaces, allowing dynamic control over shading, thermal gain and privacy. The installation is part of Harvard�s Ecological Urbanism exhibition in Gund Hall Gallery.
A parallel conference, Ecological Urbanism: Alternative and Sustainable Cities of the Future ran from April 3 - 5, and included Chuck Hoberman as a guest speaker.
Read Harvard's synopsis of the exhibition
Read the Harvard Gazette's article on the conference

Axis Magazine: From Transformable Design to Adaptive Design

For the April 2009 issue of Axis Magazine, Kazutoshi Otani interviewed Chuck Hoberman.
Download the article as a pdf
View this issue on Axis Magazine's website

Hoberman Lecturing at Harvard Graduate School of Design: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Chuck Hoberman visited Harvard's Graduate School of Design to speak about "Transformable Strategies for Adaptive Building Performance".
Click here to find out more about Harvard GSD events

Hoberman Exhibiting at The Center for Architecture: January 22 - April 25, 2009

Hoberman's adaptive shading technology will be on display at the AIA, New York's Center for Architecture exhibition, MAKE IT WORK. Engineering Possibilities.
Click here for more information about the Center for Architecture

Naval Research Laboratory to send Hoberman Sphere into Earth's orbit

The Naval Research Laboratory has contracted Hoberman Associates to design an expanding sphere suitable for space. The Precision Expanding Calibration Satellite (PERCS) will serve as a callibration device for radar sytems and satelllites, and will be launched into orbit around the Earth for a period of a few years.
Visit the Naval Research Laboratory's website

Surface Magazine: A Changed Man

Surface magazine interviewed Chuck Hoberman following our receipt of two IDEA awards and participation in MoMA's Design for the Elastic Mind Exhibition.
Visit Surface Magazine's website

Hoberman honored by IDSA + Business Week with two IDEA awards.

Hoberman's Rapidly Deployable Shelter (RDS) for Johnson Outdoors and its Expanding Helicoid for Discovery World have both been recognized by the Industrial Design Society of America's IDEA awards.

After reviewing 1517 entries from around the globe a jury of 20 design experts awarded 205 IDEA awards. The Expanding Helicoid took home a Silver IDEA for Environments, while the RDS was awarded a Bronze IDEA for excellence in Commercial Products.
View the Rapidly Deployable Shelter on the IDEA website
View the Expanding Helicoid on the IDEA website

Adaptive Structures: Building for Performance and Sustainability

In the context of their partnership, Adaptive Building Initiative, Chuck Hoberman and Buro Happold North America regional director Craig Schwitter discuss the potential for adaptive fa�ades to realize sustainable buildings as commonplace.
Design Intelligence published the essay.
Read it on di.net

The Museum of Modern Art speaks with Charlie Rose

Paola Antonelli, senior curator of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art speaks with Charlie Rose about her exhibit, "Design and the Elastic Mind.".
View the article on charlierose.com

Design and the Elastic Mind reviewed by Josie Glausiusz in Nature Magazine.

Paola Antonelli, senior curator of Architecture and Design at The Museum of Modern Art speaks with Charlie Rose about her exhibit, "Design and the Elastic Mind.".
Read the review at nature.com

Core 77 Broadcast's Live from the opening of Design and the Elastic Mind at MoMA.

Chuck Hoberman was interviewed about our piece, Emergent Surface
Listen to this interview at core77.com

Hoberman participates in the MoMA exhibition 'Design and the Elastic Mind' [February 24-May12, 2008] with its sculpture, Emergent Surface.

Organized by Paola Antonelli, Curator, and Patricia Juncosa Vecchierini, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, the exhibition is a survey of the latest developments in the design field. It focuses on designers' ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and social mores, changes that will demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior, and convert them into objects and systems that people understand and use.
Learn more at moma.org

Architectural Record: Chuck Hoberman Wants Buildings to Change.

In her piece, Chuck Hoberman Wants Buildings to Change, Nina Rappaport profiles Hoberman Associates and its recent collaborations with Foster + Partners for Architectural Record.
Read this article at archrecord.com

Architectural Record: The ArchRecord Interview: Chuck Hoberman

Chuck Hoberman is interviewed by Jenna M. McKnight of Architectural Record in advance of his lecture at the 2007 Innovation Conference.
Read the interview at archrecord.com
View the conference agenda

NPR: Studio 360, August 2007

Listen to the show at Studio 360's website

Treehugger: Chuck Hoberman wows Japan, July 2007

Read this entry at treehugger.com

PingMag: Transformable Architecture, July 2007

While in Tokyo for an opening at the Kitakyusha Innovation Gallery, Chuck Hoberman was interviewed for the Tokyo-based design magazine, PingMag.
Read this interview at pingmag.com

Seed Magazine: Chuck Hoberman + Lisa Randall: The inventor and the physicist meet up to talk about shape.

Chuck Hoberman + Lisa Randall (noted theoretical physicist) talk about shape in the July, 2007 issue of Seed Magazine.
Read this article at seedmagazine.com

Hoberman Associates' Rapidly Deployable Shelter, designed for Johnson Outdoors' Eureka brand, is selected as part of the Cooper Hewitt's 2006 National Design Triennial.

Read this article at cooperhewitt.org
Listen to Chuck speaking about transformation

>DesignBoom: Chuck Hoberman: Interview with the designer and engineer of transformable objects, May 2007

Read the interview at designboom.com

>Columbia Magazine: The Future Tents, Spring 2006

Chuck Hoberman talks about the development of the Rapidly Deployable Shelter for Johnson Outdoors in Columbia Magazine. Read the interview at columbia.edu

>MCAD: Transformation Engineering, March 2006

Interview by Martyn Day