flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Must See: Shape-shifting architecture that responds to heat

Must See: Shape-shifting architecture that responds to heat

Students in Barcelona have created a composite material using shape memory polymers that can deform and return to their original state when activated by cues like heat, humidity, and light.


By BD+C Staff | September 10, 2014
Translated Geometries, shape memory polymer
Translated Geometries, shape memory polymer

Students in Barcelona wanted to explore how physical spaces could someday morph based on various environmental inputs. The result: a material dubbed Translated Geometries, which Wired describes as a composite material using shape memory polymers that can deform and return to their original state when activated by cues like heat, humidity, and light.

The students at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya—Ece Tankal, Efilena Baseta, and Ramin Shambayati—told Wired that the invention is a toward “an architecture that isn’t so rigid, that tries to be more attuned with its environment.”

Wired writer Liz Stinson argues that adaptable modular components could save on material by serving dual purposes.

To learn how this composite works, read the full story on Wired, and watch the video below.

 

?ranslated Geometries from Efilena Baseta on Vimeo.

Related Stories

Architects | Jan 26, 2016

HOK promotes Bill Hellmuth to chief executive

Hellmuth is set to replace Patrick MacLeamy, who will remain as the firm’s chairman.

Mixed-Use | Jan 25, 2016

SOM unveils renderings of dual-tower Manhattan West development

The five million-sf project includes two office towers, a residential tower, retail space, and a new public square.

Office Buildings | Jan 21, 2016

Nike reveals design, first images of planned 3.2 million-sf expansion to its world headquarters

The expansion looks to combine design elements inspired by human movement, speed, and the strength and energy of competition.

Market Data | Jan 20, 2016

Architecture Billings Index ends year on positive note

While volatility persists, architecture firms reported healthy performance for 2015.

Architects | Jan 18, 2016

EHDD’s Monterey Bay Aquarium wins AIA Twenty-five Year Award

The aquarium set new technical standards for the building type, which still influence today, such as the flow-through seawater-based heat pump system, naturalistic exhibitions, and corrosion protection.

Architects | Jan 15, 2016

Best in Architecture: 18 projects named AIA Institute Honor Award winners

Morphosis' Perot Museum and Studio Gang's WMS Boathouse are among the projects to win AIA's highest honor for architecture.

| Jan 14, 2016

How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems

This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.

Market Data | Jan 13, 2016

Morgan Stanley bucks gloom and doom, thinks U.S. economy has legs through 2020

Strong job growth and dwindling consumer debt give rise to hope.

Architects | Jan 13, 2016

‘Socially engaged’ architect Alejandro Aravena named 2016 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate

Known for his inventive social housing initiatives in his native Chile, Aravena epitomizes the revival of a more socially engaged architect, the Pritzker jury stated.

Architects | Jan 12, 2016

Dear Architecture: It's time to create a level field for female designers

If architecture took one moment to be introspective, it would discover appalling imbalances between the opportunities for women and men, as Perkins+Will's Vershaé Hite and Brittany Eaker-Kirkland wrote in an open letter.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021