This project investigates motion, natural light and optical devices and renders them as active architectural instruments. We particularly consider kinetic skylights and shades and focus on their phenomenology, environmental and technological qualities. Drawing on the experiments of Olafur Eliasson, James Turrell, Sarah Oppenheimer and the architecture of Jorn Utzon, Renzo Piano, and others, a variety of passive and active ‘sky-windows’ will be examined, including underlying geometrical principles, operating mechanisms, light distribution, materialities, etc. Throughout the semester we design intelligent and programmable optical devices, measure and analyze their performance, develop representation techniques and a unique design vocabulary.In the second phase, we focus on the design development and large scale fabrication of the midterm schemes.