The Power of Building Green by Using Technology (Video)

Maria Lorena Lehman — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:30:51 +0000

Nature and technology are often thought of in separate terms. Sometimes you see the two juxtaposed, but in more and more buildings today your are now seeing them work side-by-side, feeding into one another’s space — not struggling against each other, but working well together. This is the power of building green by using technology.

In the project called Vertical Eco-Cibernetic City, by Orlando De Urrutia, you can see all of this. This building, inspired by the base of a tree (which extends to look for light from above) is designed as an “alive machine”. The designer’s intent is to create building systems which are self-sufficient and bio-climatic. In short, this design takes advantage of the many aspects of nature and feeds them into the building, creating quite an amazing architectural display.

Putting Architectural Technology to Good Use

An instance of what I am talking about can be seen in this building’s skin, which uses nanotechnology through geometric façade patterns. Such a skin takes advantage of light and shade while also incorporating “vegetal panels”.

Technology is also incorporated into the building through communication networks, which can be seen through the façade system of photovoltaic lattices. Such lattices serve to give energy to the forward facing LED screens to ultimately create a large multimedia façade which spans the vertical height of the building.

In the following video you will be able to see renderings, diagrams and flow charts, which more fully explain this project. I think it is a great example of what architects can achieve by aiming to merge the power of nature with the power of architectural technology and design.

Take a look:

Please note: You may need to turn down your volume if you are at work.

(Can’t see the Video? Click here).

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Haptic Building Skin as an Energy Source (Video)

Maria Lorena Lehman — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:30:50 +0000

In this video you will see an innovation called SuperCilla skin. This is an interactive and haptic building skin that serves as an energy source due to the movement of its small members. As you watch, imagine how the uses of this skin could vary greatly depending on the scale of the object around which this skin is wrapped. A small object with SuperCilla skin could move itself across the floor, while an object like a building could use this skin for an array of aesthetic, functional and sustainable needs. Also, it is interesting to imagine how our haptic interactions might affect such a design installation.

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.

VIDEO REVIEW

SuperCilla Skin is described as an “array of magnetically actuated transducers that can record and playback physical motion”. This type of skin can be wrapped around any shaped object. It can be applied to many scales such as to a large building. In addition, SuperCilla skin is also a haptic input device and active movement not only creates a textural display, but also creates energy. Its uses can be varied while it may also serve to harness energy from its movements.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What do you think of SuperCilla Skin? Do you have any ideas of how you might like to see this innovation applied to built environments? What about its energy producing features?