RESPONSIVE SKIN: DESIGNING AN ADAPTIVE BUILDING ENVELOPE FOR WARM-HUMID CLIMATE USING BAMBOO VENEER AS A HYGROSCOPICALLY ACTIVE MATERIAL
Open Access
- Author:
- Anis, Manal
- Graduate Program:
- Architecture
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 18, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Marcus Steven Shaffer, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Ute Poerschke, Committee Member
Benay Gursoy Toykoc, Committee Member - Keywords:
- Adaptive facade
Bamboo
Hygroscopy
Responsive architecture - Abstract:
- Architectural facades that are able to adapt themselves in response to changing climatic conditions have typically been identified with having high-tech complex automated mechanisms, using electronic sensors and actuators. The low-tech and no-tech passive strategies of adaptive façade design based on material responsiveness are still in their infancy. Passive strategies minimize energy and material use while maintaining occupant comfort. This is precisely why such methods require a greater emphasis today as we investigate deeper into the realms of Responsive Architecture. Materials such as bamboo and wood undergo a natural, biological reaction to environmental changes, and, therefore, offer an opportunity for non-mechanical adaption. Bamboo, due to its hygroscopic nature, undergoes constant expansion and contraction with changing levels of atmospheric humidity. From a crafting and constructing perspective, this spontaneous dimensional change – material instability - was seen as an inherent drawback of working with bamboo, with attempts being made to control, mitigate, or counteract the change. But in order to develop an energy-efficient and technologically- independent passive system of responsive architecture, it is time we start looking at the hygroscopic movement intrinsic to bamboo as an opportunity, rather than a challenge, and try and integrate it within the material performance of architecture itself. This research presents an exploration into bamboo veneer as an adaptive material to help rethink building facades as organic, breathable skins rather than a mechanized barrier between humans and nature. The methodology incorporates an investigation into the different kinds of adaptive envelopes being researched using wood, after which a series of physical experiments were conducted to study the deformation of a bilayer bamboo composite consisting of a bamboo veneer bonded with a clear cellulose film. The film, being non-reactive to climate, amplifies the curving motion of bamboo, along with its return to the initial position. The resulting module was then used to explore different façade patterns to study the opening and closing mechanism that could potentially generate ideal conditions of ventilation. The outcome of the research consists of a working, demonstrable prototype for a no-tech adaptive façade pattern that, while undergoing a bio-mechanical response, performs particular functions including shading and/or ventilation, leading to a truly material-integrated architecture.