Kinematics of Urban Movment
This project aims to develop a flexible framework for designing unique skatepark elements and layouts. By integrating contemporary design methods and digital tools, it explores new ways to shape skateable spaces that enhance creativity and performance. The goal is to move beyond conventional designs, creating dynamic environments that respond to both the needs of skaters and the evolving nature of the sport.
Date 2024
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Project Type: Design, Research
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Keywords: Skateboarding, Body Tracking, Data, LLM
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Team: Rodrigo Gallardo,
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Adivsor: Mark Goultorpe
Motivation
Skateboarding is defined by a dual pursuit: pushing athletic limits while continually expanding the space of possible tricks. Performance is inseparable from creativity, the ability to invent, adapt, and recombine movement into novel lines.
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Because skateboarding unfolds through, and is shaped by, the built environment, creativity is also a property of the spaces that afford motion. This research asks: can skateboarding creativity be (1) computationally characterized and (2) systematically enhanced through environmental design?
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The framework integrates computer vision and machine learning with an NLP-inspired notion of “trick grammars”, structured representations of trick primitives and valid transitions, and uses multi-objective optimization to link movement patterns to spatial features, enabling both measurement and generative design.
