Bio-logical – In the first phase of the research we looked into material plasticity for programmable use. As part of a Life inspired and regenerative concept, we studied production feasability of biopolymers and their thermoplastic performance in passive+ and artificial systems. In the continuation of the project we further developped the idea of a malleable system, focusing on passive biodegradation with rainwater, or induced degradation by artificial moistening.

Thermo- plastic.

         Modable plastic.

This plastic becomes moldable at a tempreture (90 c.)., and solidifies
at room tempreture.
Reheating it: Can be used agian.
Bio-degradable plastic.

This plastic bonds with certain plastics when hot. like.. ABS, acrylic,
polyester, PVC(ex: tubing) and viny (3 ring binder), parchment paper.
This plastic does not bond well with: wood products and most metals.
plastics like: nylon, polypropylene, silicon and teflon.

Hemp Fiber

Natural Fiber

Hemp is stronger than any other natural fiber. the properties
includes abrasion resistance and tensile strength.
It has a longer life span.
It also holds its shape, streching less. Hemp is used in upholstery,
demountable panels, acoustic paneling or as wallcovering from
stretching out or becoming distorted with use.
Hemp has light reflective quality. It possesses excellent soil-release
properties because it sheds a microscopic layer. This eliminates
soiling and exposes a fresh surface, retaining its sleek shine
everytime it is washed.
Good absorbant properties: It feels cooler in summer yet during winter
because of air trapped in the fiber is warmed by the body, making it warm.
Hemp has high resistance to ultraviolet light.

Passive Shading Skin | Photochromic System

This Design/Research endeavor undertaken at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya for the Academic year 2013/14, presents an exploration of potential Architectural applications of Color Changing Materials, namely Photochromic Powders. The project speculates optimal design solutions for building skins, along with an efficient use of smart materials while incorporating high-end fabrication techniques and digital tools necessary for the simulation of the anticipated material behavior under changing environmental conditions.

This project understands material intelligence as a cooperative agent in the Architectural design, making possible the spontaneous response of a built construction to a spectrum of stimuli, while contributing to a dynamic, visually engaging and communicative quality of building skins.

Terms like “interactive” and “transformative” are already well established within the Architectural jargon. Nonetheless, this design proposal suggests dynamism through the use of  inherent material property to shift state in response to changing energy fields. This main property of smart materials opens doors to the design of passive systems, the ultimate ambition in mainstream practice, which we, in turn, attempt to achieve in this research.

Through Material Testing, we deduce that the application of Photochromics in Architecture is best suited for Passive Shading/ Light and Heat regulating glazing. We propose a versatile system that derives its intelligence from:
1. Photochromics- as Intelligent Material;
2. A Parametric Design Tool adapting building skins to better optimized forms and material allocation, in response to local environmental conditions at every point along the surface.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..PARTI | Suggested Workflow

Photochromic systems allow for shading whenever needed, thanks to the inherent chemical properties that turn them proportionally dark to the intensity of UV light. However, this technology remains subject to great challenges, one of which is the economic factor that renders these systems impractically expensive. Tinting our high-rise glazed buildings all in photochromics simply sounds unreasonable. On the other hand, environmental analysis and simulation tools today are quite advanced and allow for accurate calculations of solar radiation and lighting received by any surface of almost any material in a particular location in the world. The dynamic behavior of color change materials can even be simulated, given the right algorithm that can feed the looping system with updated real time data. We decided that the material must be efficiently distributed, allocated where needed. Hence, a visualization of the year-round solar path must be available, and a corresponding mapping of solar rays on any physical body becomes necessary to determine an optimized allocation of Photochromic pigments.

A digital tool based on a Parametric logic is developed. The project becomes twofold: a digital part proceeded by physical realization. The tool makes possible the formal optimization of any surface or geometry. The resultant skin with pattern can later be verified using environmental analysis tools such as Ecotect, Radiance and Daysim for quantitative data. After checking performance, the skin is tessellated and further detailed for construction. Our design concept features curved glazing, integrating photochromic pigments within the protective films. Hence, thermoforming is suggested and vacuum forming has been employed as the main technique for fabricating our prototypes. For the latter, photochromics are mixed with epoxy resin that is later applied to the surface following the digital pattern.

………………………………………………………………………………….PARAMETRIC DESIGN TOOL | Double-fold

The solar path is tracked and projected on the surface. “louver”-like elemenets are developed suggesting the perpendicular angle to solar rays. The dot pattern  developed suggests the material distribution in this case, that of photochromic pigments. These are located in areas most exposed to the sun and are therefore activated accordingly.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………THE TOOL | Building Settings

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………BASE SURFACE | Form-finding

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………SAMPLE SKIN | Steps

This project presents no typical construction detail but rather a typical process where the given surface is subject to refinement using the parametric tool that will project Solar rays, and allocate the Photochromic panels. The resultant surface will then be panellized and a corresponding structural concept will be developed.

The Passive Shading System is activated when necessary

Shadows ambiance | Ergonomic Catalogue

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………FABRICATION | Vacuum Forming 

The “Machine” consists of the Suction box having a grid of tiny holes and a bigger one where the vacuum pipe goes; and the frame that holds the plastic throughout from heating to meeting the mold surface. Air tightness is a crucial parameter for ensuring good results. Handles were added to keep our hands from burning in the oven.

The fire is started and the acrylic sheet is firmly fixed to the upper part of the box. using the long handles, the sheet is inserted into the fireplace, slightly moved around for a uniform heating of surface. the acrylic starts to melt slowly, developing a “belly”. It is at this point that the sheet is taken out to be immediately applied over the mold, fixed in place, and closing off completely with the base box ensuring air tightness. This is crucial for the suction to be effective enough in forming the surface. This process is aided by a manual heat gun, used to melt the surface further to perfection. The process is far from being error free. the “belly” creates wrinkles as it meets the wavy surface of the mold; hence a reduced mold size and reduction of time of keeping the sheet in the fireplace.   

Considerations| Margins of Error

1. Degree of Heating
2. Sizes (Machine, mold, sheet)
3. Sufficient air suction (holes)
4. Geometry (depth, spacing)
5. Air tightness
6. Speed of application
7. Complementary use of heat gun

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………PROTOTYPE 01 | Shadows

Automated ventilation systems are usually complex building features. Moving elements require motors that add cost, weight and energy consumption to the construction, while they are often significant in size, reducing the structure’s visual delicacy.

Smart materials are here to change this paradigm and open the path towards a new architecture.

The breathing panel is a low cost, lightweight, durable and efficient modular ventilation panel. It uses a shape memory alloy wire to create an opening equal to 35% of the panel’s total area.

As technology advances, so does the needs of architecture augment. Building structures are becoming more and more dependent on machinery and, consequently, energy sources. The shift to a self-sufficient approach on architecture, comes with a reconsideration of conventional mechanics, used to provide, amongst others, temperature regulation, ventilation and shading. Kinetic systems are seen in architectural applications, more often nowadays, but they usually come with complicated mechanical supports.

New trends in architecture indicate new radical

paths for solving these problems. The effort is

focused on introducing more efficient, economic, ecologic and cost-effective solutions inspired by nature. Parallel to the investigation on mechanics, the study and creation of new materials is constantly ongoing. New, unexploited material properties are discovered or engineered, showing the shift of the path to a paradigm where construction materials display special new properties. These materials can exhibit behaviors that would need much more effort to achieve with conventional technology.

During the last two decades (1984-2004), world energy consumption has rapidly increased, along with all its frightening consequences. Primary energy consumption has grown about 49% and CO₂ emissions about 43% during these years.

In Europe, buildings are responsible for about 37% of the global energy consumption. In Spain this percentage is about 23%. Around half of this percentage comes from the use of HVAC systems (Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning systems). Predictions indicate an important growth in energy consumption for building‘s air conditioning in Europe for the next 15 years, of around 50%. Maintenance costs of HVAC systems are also a considerable effect on the country expenses.

In a metaphor where buildings are living organisms, ventilation and air conditioning systems are a life support struggling to keep a sick entity alive. Our research focuses on the development of a system that helps a building breath on its own, according to the environmental conditions and the inhabitant‘s needs.

Ventilation and shading systems are usually complex building features. Moving elements require motors that add cost, weight and energy consumption to the construction, while they are often significant in size, reducing the structure’s visual delicacy. Ventilation and shading, though, had always been an important issue when it comes to sustainability, therefore, research on smart materials and intelligent constructions applications in this field is essential. On the very first stages of our research we realised the potential of intelligent kinetic mechanisms for these types of applications.

Frame and panel structures in architecture are generally considered fixed and rigid, but flexible ones can yield kinetic properties. This would make a structure able to “respond” to external stimuli, thus becoming “intelligent”.

Our project illustrates our approach on these matters. By researching and exploring various “smart” materials, and eventually choosing one, we combined the use of advanced digital tools and fabrication machinery to design and fabricate a functional prototype that can be used as an alternative to conventional ventilation systems.

FIRST APPORIACH

The initial exploration field of the research was the bending of frame structures. This emerged from our experimentation with threads. While testing thread patterns on thin wooden frames, we realized that the collective force of multiple threads is enough to bend the frame. This lead us to the idea of a structure consisting of bending frames.

Trying to implement a behavior to the system, we were called to find a material that would actuate a responsive system. So, the research continued with the exploration of thread materials that could be used as bending agents. In parallel, we investigated on an appropriate material of the frame as well as suitable fill material that would make the panel suitable for architectural application.

ACTIVE PANEL

The final phase of the project focuses on active ventilation panel components. Panels consisting of a rigid frame and a flexible fill material that bends to create openings. The panels are combined to form a ventilation system that can have an application on a roof or on a facade. The mechanism that provides the actuation is connected to a sensor system than can adjust the openings according to the enviromental conditions (tempeature, humidity, wind etc).

The research physical outcome consists of a prototype component that can be part of the overall skin structure.  It provides basic protection from the external environmental conditions, while being able to offer openings on request. Important parameters taken into consideration is the size of the openings, the efficiency of the mechanism, as well as the minimization of cost and energy consumption.

In order to facilitate on-demand actuation, we developed an application running on iOS and Mac OS.

Built in Objective C, the application allows the user to remotely control the panels’ state and receive real-time data via udp protocol on a local network.

The sensor data collected concern values of light, temperature, humidity and air quality. Notification of extreme value detections can also be received.

Our research gave us the oportunity to experiment using a responsive material. By studying its behavior as well as its advantages and limitations we drew conclusion on how it could be used in architecture. After a thorough multi-directional experimentation phase, we focused on an application that is of essential architectural meaning.

The use of muscle wire as an actuator of an opening-closing ventilation panel mechanism demonstrated the capacity of “smart materials” to serve as real-scale building elements.

A system like that has a series of advantages:

First, it consists of modular lightweight components. There are no motors or mechanisms involved, which means that the structure is significantly lighter and visually delicate.

The actuating mechanism itself is more reliable than a conventional equivalent. Muscle wire does not rely on mechanical or electical parts. I relies on its own chemical composition. It is autonomous and can be actuated practically infinite times. Maintenance cost is therefor minimal.

The overall construction cost is also low. Less weight and absence of sophisticated mechanisms means easy, low cost construction and assembly.

Video Link:

Breathing Panel on Vimeo.

hydroceramic is the continue project of “hydropanel”

which was developed in the first semester of Digital Matter : Intelligent Construction Studio

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hydroceramic is benefited from the evaporation property of the hydrogels.

In combination of supportive materials i.e. ceramic and fabric,

we created a composite material which is responsive to heat and water.

The material has the ability to lower the temperature of the interior when actuated.

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The project are divided into 3 phases, The smart material : Hydrogel, The supportive material : Fabric as water channel, and the ceramic.

From this evaporation diagram, We can see that the heat of vaporization of water is about 0.6 kilocalories per gram, that is how the a cooling effect occurs. Taking this phenomenon as a hypothesis, we set up a test to observe the cooling performance of this smart material in composition with other selected materials i.e. Plastic, Aluminum, Clay in order to find the most suitable supportive material.

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The performative box compared to the control, after treated with extreme heat (artificial), resulted in 5 degree Celsius difference in temperature (average) and 200% higher in humidity. This gave us a rough conclusion that the composite material has the ability to cool down the enclosed space in high temperature and the ability to transfer humidity.

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hydroceramic official video

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The project objectives has been answered in the research area. And as far as necessary, with limited time and technology, we have achieved a promising test result which could lead to several further researches and profitable projects. Having in mind that the composite material has very low cost production and the clay natural resources is still abundant, the system can easily be applied to architecture in remote area. With the help of accurate energy and thermal analysis of todays’ technology, hydroceramic’s passive system can effectively keeps the balance of the humidity and temperature inside the human comfort-zone.

The use of bi-metals in architecture is relatively new and has always been used as the metallic sheet itself. This is a new approach to the already existing technology and know how. The bi-metals work in a similar manner to thermostatic materials. The approach was to use bi-metals in architecture in order to convert a temperature change (input) into mechanical displacement (output).

The use of the coil shaped bi-metal provides enough mechanical displacement to move much larger objects. On heating the bi-metal helps move the members which then return to their original location on being cooled. The product has the potential to grow as an industrial product based on the availability and manufacturing of the bi-metals of the appropriate scale. The expansion and contraction of the bi-metals could be used for numerous purposes such as roofing devices or shading devices and also facade treatments. The goal is to enhance the advantage the bi-metal posses and use it to create motion that would ease our daily life. The future uses could be temporary structures or deployable structures.

After a study of the bimetals as shown in phase 1

(http://legacy.iaacblog.com/maa2013-2014-digital-matter-intelligent-constructions/2014/04/bimetals/)

Other optimum geometries were tested

the scissors mechanism was then developed to form a ring that could expand and contract as shown in the video below:

This system was not a success since the force required to lift the structure against gravity was not equivalent to what the bi metal was able to provide.

Thus from this we developed a system of linear mechanism that would work in a similar manner using tracks in order to negate the gravitational force.

Various materials and an understanding of how they function were then tried.

The finally offered proposal was that of a façade system

The idea in this case was more to provide a system and mechanism which could be adapted to any context like in terms of structure members, roofs etc. The project is not a conclusion but an ongoing development that can evolve to be used with membranes, fabrics and also a Fresnel lens that would help concentrate the heat for it to perform better in a a passive manner.

The study aims to show the magnified effect that can be created by a much smaller element.

The making of the prototype and its functioning can be viewed in the link below :

Research Team:

Efilena Baseta – Ece Tankal – Ramin Shambayati

What our architecture may lack in a set style and goals is compensated in its ability to harness flows of energy and information in its various transitions. By treating our architecture as a homogenous system we give it the potential for infinite personalization based on control over specific spatial parameters. These parameters will define processes and reasons for change in architecture rather than finite and ultimately outdated states.

A thorough understanding of smart materials and properties suitable for an adaptable architecture is therefore essential in gaining an understanding of their countless possibilities and limitations. In our studio project we have been working with Shape Memory Polymer (SMP) in order to apply it to a responsive architectural prototype. As our concept was based around the motif of architecture in transition, are using a material that can change phase from an external and controlled stimuli. Our SMP (Veritex) is able to reach a ‘soft’ and rubbery state upon exposure to heat above its glass transition temperature of around 70°C, at which point it can undergo vast geometrical deformations.

We decided that, to best suit our want for structural adaptability we needed to find a geometry that could arrive on site in an original state and then having the capacity to deform or expand into a desired shape from actuation forces. In addition it was determined that the concept would make most sense as a component of pieces that can be assembled to create a desired given whole. Therefore, a somewhat foldable structure was deemed to be able to give us this required expansion upon arrival on site, which is why we looked into rigid foldable origami patterns, namely that of origami pioneer, mathematician, and artist Ron Resch. Like Resch we started with paper, experimenting with various patterns such as the waterbomb, and magic ball, yet finally settled with the triangulated tessellation design, which gave us both great flexibility and original foldability. Our aim therefore is to interpret Resch’s work and develop his concept into that of a functional shape-shifting building, a self-supporting structure that, given its homogenous nature has the ability to expand, deform, and reshape over time. After numerous paper tests it was decided that it is the hexagonal nodes of the pattern that hold most control over the overall deformation of the geometry, dependent on their expansion or contraction.

Once again, performing as a structural joint, the SMP is cut into a hexagonal shape and placed at these intersections of the pattern’s mountains and valleys. Apart from these SMP nodes, the rest of the folds are replaced by regular hinges, which act in tandem with the position of the panels around them

In the first prototype at 1:3 scale, we attach the hexagonal joint directly to the frames. Folding the entire pattern from a flat state proved to be difficult, however once in place the geometry was quite responsive to our needs. By heating the majority of the prototype and bringing the joints to a soft state we were able to successfully actuate growth in areas we wanted from inflating balloons underneath. The balloons fill out and push the geometry into place, and after cooling and removal of the balloon, the shape holds its new form. The concept of inflating through from underneath a real scale structure may seem difficult but it could be feasible with a system similar to that used in building binishell domes, albeit easily transportable.

The second final prototype is an attempt to push the concept to a functioning 1:1 scale, shown with a cluster of 7 units. The key design feature in this prototype is the introduction of a buffering wedge in between the SMP joint and the triangulated panel. The wedge’s function is two-fold: 1) firstly it acts to take most of the shape memory property of the material, as a result the SMP is in its original flat memory state when the component is at its most closed and acute angle. This means that reversion to the original closed triangulation state is embedded within the material system. While our SMP is not the optimum one, and we would have liked to cast it, it allows for this property to be taken advantage of with an SMP that is even more responsive. 2) Secondly the wedge introduces physical constraints in the opening / closing of the modules as when it reaches to furthermost open state the wedges push against each other and limit any further movement.

In our prototype the heating is applied uniformly across through a parallel circuit connected to the embedded heat wires, which worked well, however we propose a much more advanced system for the vision of the component in the grander scheme. We envision each triangulated component to be a self-containing unit, housing a small battery and wirelessly controlled microcontroller housed in an electronics component attached to the underside of the panel, which are powered by the solar fabric embedded in the equilateral triangles surrounding the middle component. In this way we create a self-sustaining unit that can be controlled individually and remotely, without any need for wiring between units. Given that the it is the chosen assemblage of units that determined the original form and scale, one is free to design any desired grouping of components. Micro energy production occurs at every node of the structure and each local release of energy through heating of the SMP with heat wires informs the global deformation of the structure.

The actuation for the deformations is achieved through the force of pulling by many octocopter drones. Why drones? They are the perfect mobile scaffolding system and represent a new breed of artificial intelligence that can both be pre-programed or have the ability to learn based on specific parameters or act in a swarm fashion. From a flat position where the entire structure is heated the drones pull at specific points and raise the structure into the desired place, upon which holding until the SMP cools, at which point the new form is held. The drone, either controlled by human or responding to specific environmental parameters, is also able to communicate with the microcontroller of each unit that is to be heated, establishing a communication between local nodes and global intentions. This process can be repeated indefinitely, as the structure is able to respond to a given environment or user’s preferences for various spatial configurations, a never-ending transformable multi-purpose space. These transitions, whether they are ongoing, or frozen in a specific time or setting, define the evolving personality of our new built environment.

drone actuation video link

We propose an architecture of transition.

A series of transitions between forces, (material) phases, people, spaces, and functions.

Form does not always follow the functions that we cannot predict but rather the phases that our new built environments can go through in their relationship with humans, nature, and existing buildings.

It is in our architecture that we as individuals must manifest our desire for control over spatial parameters.

These parameters will define processes and reasons for change in architecture rather than finite and ultimately outdated states.

link to final video: https://vimeo.com/90939396

click on the image above to watch the video!