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Significant uses of nanotechnology are surfacing, and it is making waves in various fields as it promises newfound opportunities — and our field of architectural design and the construction of built environments is no exception. Already there are key developments underway which highlight some of the solutions and applications which nanotechnology will work toward, as it impacts people, their surroundings and the objects within those surroundings which they use.
Uses of Nanotechnology - Model of Graphene Structure
Image: CORE-Materials | Flickr
Of course, nanotechnology uses are aiming to be diverse and multifaceted in that new materials are emerging with different property characteristics than we are used to working with, or better yet experiencing. As we delve deeper into the uses of nanotechnology, we should begin to ask ourselves what can we do with this technology, at this nano scale, that we could not do before to solve many of the critical problems that we as a people face today.
So, to begin with that exploration, I will further explain to you through this article some key uses of nanotechnology that will affect the design and use of our architectural built environments and those people who inhabit them.
Graphene: Redefining the Way We Think and Use Surface
A material that acts like a piece of paper in many ways, but one that brings with it so many new and exciting possibilities — this is what we call graphene. Graphene, as the Nobel winner Andre Geim explains in an article by Tim Carmody in Wired, “is stronger and stiffer than diamond, yet can be stretched by a quarter of its length, like rubber. Its surface area is the largest known for its weight.” (1) Needless to say, graphene holds tremendous promise for the future on so many levels.
Here are some of the qualities that make graphene such an important nanomaterial:
“To make graphene paper, raw graphite is milled and purified using a chemical bath, which reshapes its structure, allowing it to be pressed into thin sheets. These graphene sheets boast excellent thermal, electrical and mechanical properties – including excellent hardness and flexibility.” (2) — Inhabitat
But how might graphene help architectural design?
Graphene will no doubt have a multitude of impacts upon the built environment — and significant among those will be on the evolution of “surface”. To give you some straightforward visions of future graphene applications, take a look at the following video where you will immediately see the …[Read Full Article]…
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Image: treehouse1977 | Flickr
Within architectural design, the notion of “building surface” and “building skin” are increasing in importance and are, thus, becoming elements which you as an architect can leverage to bring greater sensitivity to your built environments.
In fact, research is underway to develop new electric skins that are so pressure sensitive to touch that they are actually rivaling, and surpassing, human skin’s sensitivity to touch. And by using such pressure-sensitive electric skin in architecture, more meaningful ways for occupants to interact are likely to arise, where building installations become increasingly in tune with not only occupants’ needs, but also with the dynamic fluctuations of the environment which surrounds the building. Hence, building skin could serve as a bridge, sensing the touch “frequencies” between both occupants and the surrounding environment.
What Can a Building Do with Skin Data?
As more sensitive skin and installations become part of a larger architectural dynamic system, it brings with it greater ability to sense even the most subtle fluctuations in the environment, like wind, water or debris. And how might a building benefit by increasing its level of sensitivity to pressure in this manner? Well, it would move …[Read Full Article]…
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Individual atoms in a 90 nanometer scoop of Nitinol.
Image: jurvetson | Flickr
Why does inspiration strike when thinking about building design in terms of a convergent assembly of elements? Well, here is an explanation about just what a “convergent assembly” means for manufacturing at the molecular level.
Todays manufacturing methods are very crude at the molecular level. [...] One robotic arm assembling molecular parts is going to take a long time to assemble anything large — so we need lots of robotic arms: this is what we mean by massive parallelism. While earlier proposals achieved massive parallelism through self replication, today’s “best guess” is that future molecular manufacturing systems will use some form of convergent assembly. In this process vast numbers of small parts are assembled by vast numbers of small robotic arms into larger parts, those larger parts are assembled by larger robotic arms into still larger parts, and so forth. If the size of the parts doubles at each iteration, we can go from one nanometer parts (a few atoms in size) to one meter parts (almost as big as a person) in only 30 steps.
The Future of Scalability in Architecture
As if to build upward from some sort of DNA structure, building an assembly of parts at smaller scales then fitting that assembly within a larger assembly give should give you “food for thought”.
What if, as an architect, you could design a sort of “DNA seed” from which your buildings would grow, not only as they are built, but also as they age over time? Could your initial design “seed” create a better …[Read Full Article]…
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Nanoparticles with different thicknesses and light effects.
Image: Argonne National Laboratory | Flickr
What if you could bring entirely new sensations within the spaces that you build, to better meet the needs of both your client and building occupants? Just imagine a museum with white light that seems whiter than white that also seems to be emitting from nowhere. Or, what about hearing changes in temperature?
Well, both of these examples are becoming a reality due to progress involving nanomaterials. (You can read about how the two previous examples work in the article published here.)
New design possibilities are expanding and there will be new ways to add to the integrity of your architectural masterpieces. It seems only fitting that we, as architects, use such nanomaterials to enhance not only the function of our buildings, but to make them even more uniquely beautiful for the 21st century.
Will Unexpected Architectural Sensations Be A Good Thing?
By mixing up what your occupants expect or rely upon building materials and assemblies to do, your architecture will gain an entire new array of functions and behaviors with which to uplift the way your occupants live, work and play. Often, architectural spaces today feel so static as occupants struggle daily to adapt themselves to a building. Shouldn’t it also be the other way around?
The flexibility and new behaviors that nonmaterials bring will add new variety and more choices which you, as an architect, must contend with. The key is to know how to use them — to be able to create state-of-the-art spaces that go beyond mere occupant distraction and annoying agitation to really elevate human lifestyle in a humane manner.
I challenge you to …[Read Full Article]…
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Visualization of a hand in motion during a conversation
Image: jeanbaptisteparis | Flickr
Motion sensors are already all around us, they exist in certain appliances, mobile phones and even within your car — but what if nanotechnology and the miniaturization of these sensors down to the nano scale could have profound impact on the buildings in which we live?
With nanotechnology, development is in the works to make sensors 100 times more sensitive than sensors we have today. Here is a quote explaining this remarkable feat:
“Able to “feel” and sense the movement of individual atoms, the researchers’ new MEMS sensing device uses small carbon tubes, nano in size — about one-billionth of a meter long. Creating these tiny tubes using a process involving methane gas and a furnace, Prof. Hanein has developed a method whereby they arrange themselves on a surface of a silicon chip to accurately sense tiny movements and changes in gravity.”
- from phsorg.com, A More Sensitive Senor Using Nano-sized Carbon Tubes
The question now becomes, how can you as an architect make use of such significant advances in order to improve and uplift the lives of your occupant? And yes, I do believe that uplifting the lives of your occupants should be a primary focus for your work as an architect. Nevertheless, it is time to think outside of the box.
Where Would You Embed a Nano Motion Sensor?
Since MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) will be not only more sensitive, but also a lot smaller, your designs can make use of their ability to sense very slight motion. For instance, with architectural kinetic installations, perhaps your components which are in motion could respond to …[Read Full Article]…
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Image: Nanotube | Ynse | Dreamstime
We live in an age where scientific progress continues to transform human lifestyle. This is evermore true when it comes to the progress being made in the field of nanotechnology. This science stands to change and advance the practice of design in a multitude of ways – where architectural progress is being made at the molecular level.
The paper NanoBioBuilding: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and the Future of Building by Dr. George Elvin states that “architects and other designers will become increasingly ignorant of the composition and consequences of the materials they use.” He explains that some designers are familiar with “self-cleaning windows” and “smog-eating concrete”, but only a handful of designers could state that titanium dioxide nanoparticles are responsible for these behavioral materials.(1) This is why it is so important for designers to keep informed of scientific developments.
A design area that will be influenced by nanotechnology is the smart environment. Here, tiny embedded nanosensors will make architectural features responsive. Communication will occur between object and object, between occupant and object, between object and environment and between occupant and environment. As new materials gain more transient properties, objects and architectural features will impact the process of design by making “fields of interaction” a major focus.(1)
By working on “fields of interaction” architecture professionals will have some framework by which to design for dynamic environments. Since smart architecture will be changing states and communicating heavily, architects will likely focus on relationships as much as they focus on designed forms during the design stage.(1) It is likely that both forms and their relationships will make up rule-based systems by which smart architectural spaces can function.
The science of nanotechnology continues to progress and the design field stands to benefit. As nanotechnology develops, new architectural techniques will surface. It is my belief that design creativity will reach new heights as innovative nanomaterials and nanosensors come together to give designers a renewed palette.
(1) Elvin, Dr. George. NanoBioBuilding: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, and the Future of Building. Green Technology Forum. 2006
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Image: Carbon Nanotube | ghutchis | Flickr
NANOTECHNOLOGY IS HERE…
Nanotechnology will have profound effects on the way we live. Already, developments are underway for newfound uses. For the architecture profession, nanotechnology will greatly impact construction materials and their properties. Materials will behave in many different ways as we are able to more precisely control their properties at the nano-scale.
WHY CARBON NANOTUBES?
Carbon nanotubes are a great example of how useful materials are being developed. This material is said to be one hundred times stronger than steel because of its “molecular perfection” as explained in the paper Year 2050: Cities in the Age of Nanotechnology by Peter Yeadon. In addition, because carbon atoms can bond with other matter; such material can be an “insulator, semi-conductor or conductor of electricity”. As a result, carbon nanotubes will have significant influence on the architecture industry as such materials can act as “a switchable conduit, a light source, a generator of energy and even a conveyor of matter”. (1)
Image: Aligned Carbon Nanotube | CORE-Materials | Flickr
IMPACTING BOTH DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
As materials gain such transient features, architectural design and construction will evolve. By transforming the essential properties of matter, nanotechnology will be able to change the way we build. For instance, structures will be constructed from the bottom-up because materials like carbon nanotubes can self-assemble. (1)
Nanotechnology will profoundly affect the industry of architecture at all scales; and, interior design, building design and city design will all benefit. Architecture will have the ability to function at more optimum levels – revolutionizing the way inhabitants live.
NANO-ARCHITECTURE UNLEASHED
Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance is a great book that explains how nanotechnology will impact environments. For example, nanotechnology will give architecture superior interactive functions — allowing occupants to better “communicate” with their surroundings. Windows and walls with variable transparency and mood/context sensitive clothing are just a few ways this will become possible.(2)
As new materials and construction methods emerge, “nano-architecture” will definitely unleash the designer’s imagination. For this reason, Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance is worth reading.
Here is the link: Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance
(1) Yeadon, Peter. Year 2050: Cities in the Age of Nanotechnology
(2) Crandall, BC. Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance. MIT Press. 2000.
