Cluster 3: Flex.Node Building Kit: Play

| Naomi Neururer

We continued developing the Flex.Node as a building kit for play. We redesigned the connection system to make assembly faster and easier and developed different node modules that can be combined in many ways.

At the Angewandte Festival, we transformed part of the exhibition into an open building site. Visitors could build with the system themselves and become part of the research 🙂

The Click Connection

The building system consists of four components: the bottle node, a custom bottle cap, a click insert, and heat-formed PVC pipes.

Fig. 01: Components of the click connection: bottle node, custom cap, click insert, and heat-formed PVC pipe

As with the dome, every bottle opening receives a custom cap matching its diameter. The click insert fits into each cap and allows the pipes to be connected with a simple click. Unlike the dome, no screws are needed, making the system much faster to assemble and disassemble.

The building kit was arranged on a 14 cm grid and included bottle-node modules together with PVC pipes in different lengths. Some modules were flat, using two to four bottles, while others created corners or three-dimensional connections.

Fig.02: Overview of how the different Flex.node modules fit within the grid.

PLAY

We gave visitors no instructions and no predefined goal. We simply wanted to see how someone who had never seen the system before would start building. Within minutes, we already noticed unexpected outcomes.

The click connector had been designed so that pipes would continue straight through the node. Almost everyone, however, instinctively connected the pipe at a 90° angle. It wasn’t how we had intended the system to be used, but it worked well.

Fig.03: Left: the intended connection. Right: the connection most visitors intuitively created

Throughout the festival, visitors kept finding new ways to use the system. Some connected two pipes to a single insert, others built furniture-like objects, and children quickly started building structures almost as tall as themselves.

Fig.04: Examples of structures built by visitors

Another interesting observation was how easily people broke the original 14 cm grid. Because both the bottle nodes and the PVC pipes have a certain flexibility, visitors naturally created different angles instead of staying within a rigid orthogonal grid. The result was a much more organic building system.

Fig.05: Examples of larger structures that no longer follow the grid.

The festival showed us which movements feel intuitive, where the system can be improved, and how quickly people begin experimenting when given open-ended building blocks.

A huge thank you to everyone who picked up a Flex.Node, connected a few pipes, and became part of the project. 🙂