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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.

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