Soana, Valentina; Adhitya, Sara; Minooee Sabery, Shahram; Tyler, Nick; Bosi, federico; Wurdemann, Helge; (2025) SCEHW human–material–machine live performances: Interactive experiments on Shape-Changing Environments for Health and Wellbeing. [Performance]. London, UK. 28 July - 30 November 2025.

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Abstract

The SCEHW human–material–machine live performances were developed as part of the Shape-Changing Environments for Health and Wellbeing (SCEHW) research project. In these performances, selected participants interacted with the latest version of ELAmorph, a 4-metre elastic, shape-morphing robotic panel. ELAmorph can deform from a flat-wall configuration to a tunnel-like form, achieving multiple intermediate states. During the performances, participants’ feedback and physiological data were collected in relation to the robotic behaviours. The aim was to conduct the first full-scale experiments exploring how large, shape-changing intelligent building systems influence human spatial experience, emotions, behaviour, and individual agency over space. This project is among the first to examine how soft robotic environments can enable personalised spatial experiences and enhance human wellbeing through data-driven evaluation. The work is inherently interdisciplinary, integrating architectural and spatial design with engineering and robotics to develop human-centred robotic environments through scientific experimentation. The project seeks to bridge academic research and societal need, offering both scientific insights and applied solutions in inclusive design. By developing new methods to collect and process data on the relationship between soft robotic architectural elements and human interaction, the research aims to inform future robotic solutions for adaptive spaces that support wellbeing, provide individual agency, and foster more inclusive experiences in public and professional settings. This is particularly relevant for people with diverse cognitive, sensory, and spatial needs, including those with chronic conditions, neurodivergent traits, or heightened stress sensitivity. The ability to create personalised, morphing spaces allows users to regulate their emotional states in environments that are often rigid and unaccommodating, empowering individuals to shape sensory and spatial experiences aligned with their own needs. Building on earlier human–material–machine performances developed within the Elastic Robotic Structures (ERS) research led by Valentina Soana across UCL Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, and the Bartlett School of Architecture, this new performance, created at UCL PEARL with the cross-faculty SCHEW team (UCL MechEng, CEGE, and BSA), focuses on three primary choreographies. These combine predefined deformations with real-time, feedback-based responses to human motion. All interactions were staged under controlled conditions, with both human and robotic data collected to deepen understanding of human responses to dynamic, shape-changing environments. Shape-Changing Environments for Health and Wellbeing (SCEHW) is led by Valentina Soana, Sara Adhitya, and Shahram Minooee Sabery, with Nick Tyler CBE FREng, Federico Bosi, and Helge A. Wurdemann. The project brings together expertise from UCL Mechanical Engineering, UCL PEARL, the Arts-Sciences Programme, the Bartlett School of Architecture, Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering, and the UCL Robotics Institute. It is funded by the UCL Grand Challenges Data-Empowered Societies grant, with support from UCL PEARL, the Arts-Sciences Programme, and in-kind support from CEGE.

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