Kinetic architecture

A building's capability for motion can be used just to: enhance its aesthetic qualities; respond to environmental conditions; and/or, perform functions that would be impossible for a static structure.

The possibilities for practical implementations of kinetic architecture increased sharply in the late 20th century due to advances in mechanics, electronics, and robotics.

Yet it was only in the early 20th century that architects began to widely discuss the possibility for movement to be enabled for a significant portion of a buildings' superstructure.

For the first few decades of the 20th century kinetic architecture was almost entirely theoretical, but by the 1940s innovators such as Buckminster Fuller began experimenting with concrete implementations, though his early efforts in this direction are not regarded as totally successful.

The bird-like Burke Brise soleil at the Milwaukee Art Museum is a well regarded example of this, though it also has a functional aspect in that its movement allows it to shade the crowds from the sun or protect them from storms.

The Burke Brise soleil sits atop the Milwaukee Art Museum – it folds its wings over the museum to protect it at night and can also use its wings to shield visitors from the sun or from rain storms.
An early instance of kinetic architecture – the drawbridge
The Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen , Germany is an example of a stadium with a retractable roof and a retractable pitch