High-Tech Ivy for Your Building Façade

Maria Lorena Lehman — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:00:59 +0000

Image: kennymatic | Flickr

This solar and wind project is unique because it takes technology beyond just being “tacked on” to a building. These micro solar panels mimic nature’s ivy, really bringing life to the otherwise redundant ways we typically see energy being stored.

Your building façade will be able to do even more…

The Grow project (still in the prototyping stage) is a solar and wind energy storage system used as cladding for exterior walls. Inspired by nature in form and function, the panels making up the system are laid over the surface like ivy leaves, generating energy even while defining new formal and typological aspects. (1)

It is refreshing to see a solution to the constant challenge of integrating technology with architecture in a way that contributes to the overall experience for the occupant.

This is a step in the right direction.

(1) Ullman, H.F. Grow and Solar Ivy are solar and wind energy storage systems for walls by Smit. Floornature.com.

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Building Façade Possibilities (Video)

Maria Lorena Lehman — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:00:30 +0000

The following video is by Urban Screen, a company that claims to “put architecture on stage”. They basically design large-scale projections for urban surfaces.

You will notice how the building facade in this video becomes dynamic and its skin seems to “breathe” — even if it is only an illusion.

Please note: If you are not able to play the video, make sure to click this article’s title above so you can view this video from the original Sensing Architecture page.

LAYERS OF FLATNESS

In some ways I think that the experience of this installation is very different on video than it would have been in person. I do; however, like the way the projection is scaled to “play” with the existing buildings design elements (windows and such).

Seeing a video like this is thought provoking in that it makes one aware of a state we call “flatness” — and what designers can do with its layers.

IT’S MORE THAN JUST A PROJECTION

There is most definitely a theatrical side to this urban “stage” where architecture can come to life in an entirely new way. It’s not about the simple act of projecting; it’s what Urban Screen does with the merger between the dynamic projection and the static building.

By pushing the boundaries of physics, passers-by can “see” building materials and structures behave in entirely new and unexpected ways.

It’s a great way to push the “behavioral” envelope.