ADAPTIVE SKINS OF TOMORROW

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Self-responding parametric facade

MOCK-UP, SCALE 1 TO 10

The main concept was to design an adaptive façade for a 27 m high experimental building located on the University Campus in Stuttgart. During the seminar, I was exploring innovative technologies in architecture. The project was carried out in the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) and was supervised by an excellent German architect and structural engineer Werner Sobek.

Thanks to the installed sensors, the facade reacted to changing weather conditions and reduced the building's energy demand. The design was inspired by the hexaflexagon structure and dynamic origami elements and consists of three different types of panels:

1) Solar, covered with photovoltaic cells. The panels respond dynamically and automatically to the angle of sunlight incidence and collect the most significant amount of solar energy.

2) Thermal - thanks to a phase change material closed in the modules, panels heat or cool the building's interior.

3)Transparent panels - providing natural light to the inside

In the concept, the panels are fixed to the stainless steel frame. For the panels' rotation and the ability to allow natural light and ventilation into the building were responsible actuators - electromotors installed inside the frame. The façade is designed to fully adapt to the weather conditions without any direct human intervention and is meant to be a second facade of the building.

During the seminar, a scale of 1 to 10 model of the façade part was produced. The mock-up panels were changing their positions depending on the program settings, thanks to 5 electromotors integrated into the construction.

CONCEPT: