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The mechanical opening of a door requires an intimate relationship between hardware and hand, via ergonomics — or manonomics in this case.  Historically, this relationship has manifested itself into a series of species, each adapted for a specific function.  In turn, we have now inherited a great range of typologies: the knob, the oval, the handle, and so forth.  Each associated with varied protocol and levels of formality.  Beyond the basics, there are also the formal entry pulls that respond to different programmatic requirements.  The peculiar way in which the hand engages each different type provokes thinking and speculation on more innovative possibilities: both formal and mechanical.  This conclusion provoked the development of — not a hardware ‘line’, but — a hardware ‘matrix’ where types respond to program, and families to interaction.

The matrix works more closely with the idea of topologies, rather than fixed types. This freedom allows for evoking of latent formal connections between different types to create new and inventive hybrids. For instance, if a knob were round, but then pressed to be oval, is it still a knob or now a latch? If the axis of rotation is not central to the oval, then is this a handle? These subtle variations become the vehicle for morphological transformations.

 

These families also require intermediaries to transition between them.  In order to move from the ‘hollow’ family to the ‘solid’ family, the hollow pieces needed to be pressed.  This necessity generated yet another interaction that is somewhere between.  The last family is anthropomorphic in nature and was generated from the ergonomic engagement of a latch. With a latch, there is a twisting motion where the thumb moves to the top while the fingers counter from the opposite, bottom side.  We concluded that the latch is not the only hardware type that could utilize this engagement.  Various types received a bump and a bulge that was modeled after the relationship between skin, flesh, and bones.

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