Architecture Animée presents shape-shifting buildings with animated gifs

Buildings by SANAA, Herzog & de Meuron, MAD and more appear to pulsate, spin, dance and grow in this series of animated gifs by French architect Axel de Stampa.

Vitrahaus by Herzog & de Meuron - original photograph by Tom Arban

In the Architecture Animée series, Herzog & de Meuron's VitraHaus triples in height, while one of MAD's curvaceous Absolute Towers begins to twist, and the new Emerson College by Morphosis is given a throbbing heart.

Absolute Towers by MAD - original photograph by Tom Arban

"Architecture Animée looks into the concept of motion in architecture," said De Stampa. "By using gif format, buildings come alive and reveal their true natures."

New Museum by SANAA - original photograph by James Ewing

Other buildings to feature in the series include SANAA's Zollverein School in Germany and New Museum in New York, as well as the America's Cup Building in Spain by David Chipperfield and Theatre Agora in the Netherlands by UNStudio.

Americas Cup Building by David Chipperfield

For each image, the architect aims to use animation to reveal something new or unnoticed about a familiar building.

Memory Museum by Estudio America - original photograph by Nicolas Saieh

"Motion in architecture is mainly associated to the fourth dimension: time," explained De Stampa. "Time, through the body, experiences the building."

"In Architecture Animée, I have developed a different approach. While the visitor doesn't move, the building offers different perceptions, comes alive and reveals additional evidence," he said.

Theatre Agora by UNStudio - original photograph by Christian Richters

De Stampa created his first gifs as part of 1week1project – an initiative with fellow Ecole d'Architecture de Paris-Belleville graduate Sylvain Macaux to produce 52 spontaneous architecture projects over the space of a year.

Emerson College Los Angeles by Morphosis - original photograph by Iwan Baan

"I wanted to go further," said De Stampa. "Then a couple of months ago I saw images of the Emerson College by Morphosis. The contrast between the big frame and the smooth elements in the centre was great. I wanted to see it moving, so it all began there," he said.

Mirador Building by MVRDV and Blanca Lleo - original photograph by Luis Garcia

The architect next plans to animate the Balancing Barn by MVRDV, Steven Holl's Linked Hybrid and the Casa da Música by OMA.