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

Multifamily Housing | Mar 27, 2015

Bathroom fixtures get a starchitect makeover by Bjarke Ingels

This Danish starchitect elevates the toilet paper holder (and other bathroom accessories).

Architects | Mar 27, 2015

Illustrator Federico Babina explores architecture as animals

When you pay attention, the Eiffel Tower really does look like a giraffe.

Transit Facilities | Mar 25, 2015

Kengo Kuma selected to design new Paris Metro station

The new station will serve as a hub to connect Paris' northern suburbs with the core.

Green | Mar 25, 2015

WELL Building Standard introduced in China

The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying and monitoring features that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.

High-rise Construction | Mar 24, 2015

Timber high-rise residential complex will tower over Stockholm waterfront

The four towers, 20 stories each, will be made entirely out of Swedish pine, from frame to façade.

Higher Education | Mar 23, 2015

Hong Kong university building will feature bioclimatic façade

The project's twin-tower design opens the campus up to the neighboring public green space, while maximizing the use of summer winds for natural ventilation.

Religious Facilities | Mar 23, 2015

Is nothing sacred? Seattle church to become a restaurant and ballroom

A Seattle-based real estate developer plans to convert a historic downtown building, which for more than a century has served as a church sanctuary, into a restaurant with ballroom space.

Government Buildings | Mar 23, 2015

SOM leads planning for Egypt’s new $45 billion capital city

To alleviate overcrowding and congestion in Cairo, the Egyptian government is building a new capital from scratch.

BIM and Information Technology | Mar 23, 2015

Skanska hosts three-week 'hackathon' to find architect for Seattle tower development

Searching for a nimble, collaborative design firm for its 2&U tower project in Seattle, the construction giant ditches the traditional RFQ/RFP process for a hackathon-inspired competition.

Healthcare Facilities | Mar 23, 2015

Can advanced elevator technology take vertical hospitals to the next level?

VOA's Douglas King recalls the Odyssey project and ponders vertical transportation in high-rise healthcare design.

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