The paper presents new developments into autonomously responsive architectural systems that adapt to environmental changes using hygroscopic material properties. The presented work expands upon previously developed research by the authors on wood-veneer composite meteorosensitive architectural systems based on the biomimetic transfer of the hygroscopic actuation of plant cones[1,2]. The manipulation parameters, variables and syntactic elements that enabled such meteorosentive architectural systems to be possible, using the hygroscopic qualities of wooden veneer within a weather responsive wood-veneer composite system, are abstracted and transferred into a 3D printed composite system. The fuse deposition modelling approach presented further expands the research field into such autonomous responsive systems by enabling a more complex gradient of functional differentiation within a responsive element while also enabling on-surface complex articulations due to anisotropic conditions. The results indicate that the 3D printed prototype can maintain the ability to operate and respond autonomously and passively to changes in relative humidity, similarly to the wood veneer composite system, by embedding some of the same functional principles within the material itself. The numerically controlled fabrication methodology presented, enabled through 3D printing, looks at designing the “material syntax” as a strategy for functional programming and both formal and functional differentiation. That is, the system can transition within a single composite unit from a support structure to a responsive actuation element variably and multi-directionally. The proof-of-concept functional prototypes presented will situate the functional range of this research.

In this study, pull-out capacity of 3D printed composites are experimentally and computationally investigated. Cylindrical multi-material prototypes consist of a fiber embedded in a soft matrix. Embedded fiber has tiny orderly spaced geometrical features (fins) on its circumference over the bond length. Fins are either vertically aligned or inclined to the axis of the fiber (loading direction). Both fiber and fins are made of the same stiffer material, while the matrix is made of soft rubbery polymer. Pull-out performance of the samples were evaluated using tensile testing machine. It was found that orientation of the fins influences both the pull-out capacity and the effective stiffness of the interface. The pull-out capacity and stiffness response were found to increase by ∼62 % and ∼65.5 %, respectively, for a system with a volume fraction of 2.7 %, compared to a baseline design with no fins. In the later part of study, Finite Element (FE) simulations were performed for all prototypes. FE analyses indicate that the von Mises stresses at the interface between the matrix and fiber can be significantly reduced by the incorporation of fins. This study provides insight into the mechanics of stress transfer through the embedded fins, and the design aspects of the interface of fiber reinforced composites.

This paper explores the relationship between digital and material-based fabrications in architecture. The notion of transient materialization proposes that immaterial architecture is a trigger for investigating new possibilities for digital fabrication through space and time. This project is mainly inspired by the beauty of nature, focusing on soap foam bubbles, which have an n-hedron structure and are usually blown by air. The paper questions this structure’s materiality, examines its physical performance and ephemeral characteristics, and expands on its meaning through an experiment in digital fabrication. In addition, we present the first phase of this technology, in which an anti-gravity and programmable foam structure was achieved. The experiment demonstrates the different shapes possible for dynamic and transient soap foam structures.

Architectural design research in next-generation building systems is transforming dynamic building envelope performance towards systems that not only meet the energy demands of buildings but also respond to occupant preferences for aesthetics, comfort and control. Although research provides tremendous potential for future systems, existing tools and methods of evaluation primarily focus on energy efficiency and continue to postpone human factors issues. In order to assess the architectural opportunities of nano- and micro-material innovations for building facades, new simulation methods are needed to predict and program their multifunctional performance capabilities, particularly in relationship to human interaction. This paper describes the construction of augmented reality simulations and preliminary experimental results of co-optimizing advanced building skin performance according to multiuser interaction and bioclimatic response. The strengths and limitations of the augmented reality simulations in relation to environmental performance and human interaction are presented. A discussion of ongoing work focuses on the integration of multiuser interactions and virtual reality techniques coupled with whole-building energy modeling methods.

This paper investigates the development process of emergent materials for architecture by looking at the example of Phase Change Materials. In the context of the complex nature of the constructed environment and the functional and performance requirements for buildings, emergent materials have to be carefully tuned for maximum performance. Investigating the relationship of time, space and matter in the design and development process through interdisciplinary endeavors is at the heart of this investigation. Furthermore, a shift from multidisciplinary endeavors to truly interdisciplinary collaboration that crosses the traditional boundaries of the individual fields is suggested.

In this paper, we describe unique thermally responsive polymer system based on nanotube-elastomers dispersed with core-shell expanding microspheres (phase-change material). Upon thermal or infrared stimuli, liquid hydrocarbon cores encapsulated within the microspheres vaporize, expanding the surrounding shells and stretching the matrix. Microsphere transformation resulted in visible dimensional changes associated with macroscopic volume increase (>500%), reduction in density (>80%), and increase in elastic modulus (>675%). Additionally, electrically conductive nanotubes allowed for expansion dependent electrical responses. We present our new findings on expansion dependent superhydrophobicity in these materials and present some outlook and comparison of our stimuli responsive polymers with other material systems for future origami based applications.

In nature, water assembles basic molecules into complex multi-functional structures with nano-to-macro property variation. Such processes generally consume low amounts of energy, produce little to no waste, and take advantage of ambient conditions. In contrast digital manufacturing platforms are generally characterized as uni-functional, wasteful, fuel-based and often toxic. In this paper we explore the role of water in biological construction and propose an enabling technology modeled after these findings. We present a water-based fabrication platform tailored for 3-D printing of water-based composites and regenerated biomaterials such as chitosan, cellulose or sodium alginate for the construction of highly sustainable products and building components. We demonstrate that water-based fabrication of biological materials can be used to tune mechanical, chemical and optical properties of aqueous material composites. The platform consists of a multi-nozzle extrusion system attached to a multi-axis robotic arm designed to additively fabricate extrusion-compatible gels with graded properties. Applications of the composites include small and medium-scale recyclable objects, as well as temporary largescale architectural structures.

Despite recent advancements in digital fabrication and manufacturing, limitations associated with computational tools are preventing further progress in the design of non-standard architectures. This paper sets the stage for a new theoretical framework and an applied approach for the design and fabrication of geometrically and materially complex functional designs coined Fabrication Information Modeling (FIM). We demonstrate systems designed to integrate form generation, digital fabrication, and material computation starting from the physical and arriving at the virtual environment. The paper reviews four computational strategies for the design of custom systems through multi-scale trans-disciplinary data, which are classified and ordered by the level of overlap between the modeling media and the fabrication media: (1) the first model takes as input biological data and outputs 3D printed digital materials organized according to functional constraints; (2) the second model takes as input geometry and environmental data and outputs robotically wound fibers organized according to functional constraints; (3) the third model takes as input material and environmental data and outputs CNC deposited pastes organized according to functional constraints; (4) the forth model takes as input biological, material and environmental data and outputs robotically deposited polymers organized according to functional constraints. The analysis of these models will demonstrate the FIM approach and point towards its value to designers who seek to inform their work through multi-scale transdisciplinary data, a capability that is currently missing from standard design-to-fabrication workflows.

Efficacious resource harvesting constitutes new modes of conceptualizing the interactions of buildings with surrounding environmental conditions. The internal logic of a biotechnical paradigm in architectural design allows for the potential of fluid exchanges between medium and material to be realized with correlated metabolism. Such concepts avert existing mechanical paradigms based upon linear conservation of energy processes and approach entropic integrated design interactions of nonlinear dynamical processes. Through a physiological analogy that informs architectural anatomy, the genetic code of hydrogels embeds emergent morphological responses to discrete interactions with environmental phenomena. In contrast to the static hard tissue of the skeletal system, viscoelastic soft tissue provides significant environmental impact by means of integrating spatiotemporal adaptation in building systems.

This framework provides an interscalar perspective for integrating biopolymeric membranes within building-envelope systems and informs the microstate design of the polymer chains for optimized mechanical performance. Hydrogels are a translucent three-dimensional water-swollen polymer, which exhibit mechanical work upon interaction with water vapor. In effect, this interaction provides for a variant index of refraction, a variant heat capacitance, and a physical shift in surface morphology. Characteristic changes in material thermal and mechanical properties parallel diurnal climate profiles for circadian biorhythmic membrane designs. The macrostates of temperature, pressure, and volume reciprocally inform the potential microscopic properties, including position and velocity of each molecule within the material system. The viscoelastic molecular entropy (Maxwell model) of hydrogels is established as a fundamental basis for situating a dynamic material logic influencing a high efficacy architectural physiology. The Maxwell model is translated as an algorithmic framework for mechanical control through tetra-functional polymer chain development of biopolymeric hydrogels. In contrast to polyacrylamide hydrogels, the chemistry of biopolymeric polysaccharide hydrogels is well suited for renewable sourcing and down cycling to achieve sustainable material life cycles. However, these biopolymers do not inherently exhibit robust structural properties necessary for influencing morphological shifts of the membranes for intelligent passive design strategies such as self-actuating ventilation apertures or self-shading surface geometries. The research encompassed in this work engages the development of a more acute framework for the trajectory of biopolymeric hydrogel dynamics based upon a necessity for controlled morphological modulations in response to specific environmental conditions.

This research focuses on defining the design principles that integrate passive-system thinking into the built environment with the goal of mitigating building energy usage by self-regulating the heat gain/loss at level of building envelopes. In collaboration with TAKTL, a company that developed and uses advanced Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) integrated with mold design and manufacturing of architectural elements, our research targets how specific manipulation of UHPC surface area in combination with self-regulating thermochromic response can improve building’s energy performance. By coupling the adaptive color response with surface geometry we can suggest new passive sustainable solutions that would mitigate the energy usage with no additional energy input; purely through designing the form and color adaptation for UHPC concrete Trombe wall components integrated within building façade systems. This paper outlines the first part - the thermal behavior in response to surface geometry. Such comprehensive knowledge not only enhances the possibilities within architectural design, but becomes an effective strategy in self-regulating the heat gain/loss at the building surface level, while reducing the need for mechanical building systems.