The term kinetic architecture was coined by Zuk and Roger H. Clark in the early 1970s, when "dynamic spatial design problems were explored in mechanical systems."
Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy as ensign, and was stationed in Saipan, Mariana at the end of World War II, from 1945 to 1946.
Upon his return to the United States, he resumed his academic studies, completing his master's degree (MSE) at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in 1947.
In 1965, Zuk and two other University of Virginia architecture faculty members won first prize in an international competition for a hotel building complex in San Sebastián, Spain.
[2] The prize-winning team consisted of designers Jan Lubicz-Nycz and Carlo Pelliccia, with Zuk serving as structural engineer.
In 1971, he took sabbatical leave from the University of Virginia for a study-tour in Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Nepal, India, Greece, Israel, and Italy.
Under present architectural approaches, the form is likely to become obsolete from a functional point of view long before it becomes unsound and in need of physical replacement.
He was a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity at Cornell University and received the Allied Profession Award from Virginia Chapter AIA in 1972.
"[6] The book was "a pragmatic manual for the Archigram inspired generation eager to create a new, continuously moving, shape-changing reality".