The Actuated Matter Workshop took place at Zurich University of the Arts from July 25. - 29. 2011 and was co-run with London based Loop.pH design studio. During the workshop the twenty international participants developed a speculative model for membrane structures that exhibit properties of sensitivity, resilience, and decay. By physically engaging with the behaviors of active materials, they experimented with the threshold between the electronic and mechanic, the analog and the digital. The workshop followed a do-it-yourself approach and led to the development of sonic, luminous and moving modules that populated and activated the environment. The main structure was based on a three-dimensional ecology of interlinked loops, made from optical fibers, that formed a lightweight system with enough flexibility to become actuated but sufficient stiffness to support a multitude of components. The production of the active elements, electroluminescent screens, electro-active polymers and flexible audio panels, was strongly driven by the curiosity and engagement of the mostly inexperienced interdisciplinary team. This approach shows that highly sophisticated technologies and structures can emerge from open collaborations driven by social interaction and exchange which might lead to an alternative, less rigid architecture of the future as a more connected, interlaced, entangled, responsive and responsible world.