So the days after the meeting I started searching for interesting subjects to research. There were two subject that couldn´t let me go: Biomimetic and Sustainable Architecture.
In living things the skin is the most complex of all elements. It separates inside from outside, and thus is again dynamic. Most skins are multilayered and none are exclusive. Exchange is the key here; skins allow different climatic elements and energy forms to enter or be excluded at any time. So a body might choose to lose heat when hot, or conserve it when cold, by changing the configuration of the skin. The human skin for example has seven layers, none of which is impermeable to water, yet we do not leak!
Finally I found my interesting topic as the" Smart and Adaptable Skin","Multi - layered dynamic skin".
In living things the skin is the most complex of all elements. It separates inside from outside, and thus is again dynamic. Most skins are multilayered and none are exclusive. Exchange is the key here; skins allow different climatic elements and energy forms to enter or be excluded at any time. So a body might choose to lose heat when hot, or conserve it when cold, by changing the configuration of the skin. The human skin for example has seven layers, none of which is impermeable to water, yet we do not leak!
Finally I found my interesting topic as the" Smart and Adaptable Skin","Multi - layered dynamic skin".
This is a good start, Sara - Biomimetic technology is a hot topic, as are those of adaptable skins and of Sustainable Architecture.
ReplyDeleteTo carry out a successful research project in this course, you'll need to sort out the relationships between these three topics, and then focus on a particular design question which you'd like to answer by testing some possible solutions.
Please keep working on this and post two or three ideas for research questions before the next class meeting, so that you can use feedback on those to make your presentation.
In case you're interested in how someone in the previous session of Stand-Up Architecture addressed this subject area, you might look at the work of Mark Min ( Q1 - Fall '08) on a biomimetic facade design.
André
... the link to Mark Min's blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://mjpmin.blogspot.com/
AC
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeletethe study of skin as a starting point for architectural enclosure is quite a challenge. It would be helpful to specify what aspects of the exchange between inside and outside you would like to address through an adaptable skin and how you would like to improve those in your proposal.
A living organism is much more complex and substantially smaller than a building, so many of the functions the skin does perform reasonable well may not scale. Another big challenge is the materialization of a biomimetic proposal - many biomimetic projects focus on aspects of form such as the roughness of the shark skin, or the shape of bird wings as a starting point for airplane design. It gets much harder when complex processes are involved, for instance you mention heat regulation - most likely there are many factors contributing to this, from evaporative cooling, to changes in the blood circulation, to changes in the skin texture through muscle movement. It maybe helpful to specify more clearly what goals you would like to achieve in a building skin design and how you would assess whether it is successful. Choosing just one aspect, or if necessary a combination of interdependent aspects your facade would regulate is an important aspect of a research proposal.
thanks,
Axel