Blaine Brownell will lecture about biomimetic materials and design applications at the 1st Wyss Adaptive Architecture Workshop entitled “Buildings Inspired by Nature: Inventing the Future Built Environment,” sponsored by the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University. This event is envisaged as a first step towards catalyzing the application of revolutionary advances in biology, materials science, and nanotechnology to architectural challenges, and mapping out strategies to develop new commercial products for the built environment. The workshop will explore emerging frontiers between science and architecture, and will take place on Friday, September 16, 2011.
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Transmaterial- ExoSkeleton February 17, 2012ExoSkeleton is a quilted concrete panel made from organic duck cloth canvas and cast concrete. Two layers of the canvas are quilted using reinforced stitching in a structurally stable configuration. The reinforced stitching is engineered to withstand the fluid lateral forces specific to the amount of uncured concrete relative to the diameter of the pocket [. […]
- Flight Assembled Architecture January 20, 2012Flight Assembled Architecture is a demonstration project that exhibits research conducted on flying machine enabled construction by ETH Zürich professor Raffaello D’Andrea and architects Gramazio & Kohler. The first installation to be built by flying machines, Flight Assembled Architecture utilizes software-controlled flying robots to place foam bricks i […]
- Textures December 29, 2011R-Cast Textures acrylic material weighs half as much as glass but is 17 times stronger. It is also four times stronger than concrete. Textures are acrylic panels that feature customized patterns sculpted deep into the surface. Without any special illumination, the panels reflect available ambient lighting to produce deep and dramatic shadows. Textures panels […]
- Lunalite December 9, 2011Lunalite decorative surfaces exhibit a range of effects, from rustic textures to metallic shimmer. This collection of sophisticated interlayers features materials like mica, gold flake and sisal fibers, giving surfaces depth and complexity. Custom fabrication ensures that each organic Lunalite surface is unique. Natural, metallic, holographic and recycled in […]
- SorbtiveMEDIA December 2, 2011Many lakes, ponds and rivers suffer from algae blooms and depleted dissolved oxygen as a direct result of excessive nutrients entering waterways after rainstorms. Phosphorus is the accelerant that causes algae blooms to grow rapidly. SorbtiveMEDIA is an oxide-coated water filtration system engineered to remove pollutants including phosphorus. It is produced […]
- ExoSkeleton February 17, 2012
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Mind & Matter
- Recyclable High-Performance Thermoplastic February 21, 2012Tegris polypropylene thermoplastic composite. Photo: Milliken. The pursuit of stronger, lighter, and more durable composite materials has led to the development of products such as Tegris, a carbon-fiber lookalike material made of polypropylene tape yarn. South Carolina-based manufacturer Milliken invented Tegris, which was originally designated Moldable Fab […]
- Turning Rotten Food into Fuel February 16, 2012A Stuttgart-based plant that converts food waste into biogas. Photo: Fraunhofer IGB. In an increasingly resource-conscious society, the familiar environmental adage “waste equals food” usually implies recycling discarded material to make new products. However, trash also has value in the generation of energy. Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute hav […]
- The World’s Fastest Elevator February 13, 2012Gensler's Shanghai Tower (2014) will use ultra high-speed elevators by Mitsubishi. Image by Gensler Architects. As historians of the skyscraper will tell you, the modern high-rise was born from the serendipitous combination of two concurrent technologies: the steel frame and the elevator. Naturally, technology refuses to stand still, as is the case with […]
- A Material That Enables Three-Dimensional Enlargements February 9, 2012A demonstration of the HydroSpan 100 enlarging casting resin. Image: Industrial Polymers Corporation. Three-dimensional printing has accelerated the material embodiment of architectural ideas at a small scale. However, due to the limitations of the printing bed size, this method is not yet suitable for constructing material details at full or enlarged scales […]
- Optimizing Solar Arrays February 7, 2012Gemasolar power-generating array in Seville, Spain. Photo by GeoEye. One of the drawbacks of solar energy is that it requires a lot of space. Photovoltaic and solar thermal arrays require a large amount of room, and they are not always as efficient as they might be—due to panels shading each other as they move to track the sun throughout the day. A recent re […]
- Material Xperience February 3, 2012The Material Xperience exhibition in Rotterdam, January 25-27, 2012. Photo by the author. Netherlands-based material company Materia hosted their annual Material Xperience exposition in Rotterdam on January 25-27. The event—one of the largest exhibitions in the world focused exclusively on innovative materials for building—featured over 100 tables, booths, a […]
- Plastic Film Made from Whey January 30, 2012Food protective film made from whey. Photo by the Fraunhofer Institute. One of the greatest benefits offered by plastics is protection against spoilage—in food, medicines, and even buildings. Transparent multilayer films used in food packaging keep nature’s degenerating forces at bay. These barrier films, made from petroleum-based polymers like ethylene viny […]
- Illuminating Window January 27, 2012Switchable, transparent OLEDs. Photo by BASF/Philips. Multifunctionalism and deep integration are two traits that increasingly define emergent material technologies. One such technology is a switchable OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) panel that doubles as a transparent window. Recently developed by BASF and Philips for use in automobile roofs, the new sk […]
- Recyclable High-Performance Thermoplastic February 21, 2012
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Matter in the Floating World
- The Fluidity of FabricA conversation with Reiko Sudo, Nuno Corporation Cofounder and artistic director of Nuno, Reiko Sudo has propelled traditional Japanese textiles into an unlikely realm. Although skilled in time-honored methods of fabric weaving and dyeing, Sudo also seeks to upset safe conventions in her craft, […]
- The Future in a Tiny SphereOnline Exclusive: A conversation with Yoshinobu Tsujikawa, Kyosemi Corporation. Japan currently leads the world in solar power technology. Japan not only produces half the total solar cells made in the world, it also exports 30% of these cells, with expected demand […]
- Connective TissueA conversation with Shuhei Endo, Shuhei Endo Architect Institute. For Shuhei Endo, continuity is everything. In his architecture, he strives to make connections between inside and outside, large and small, space and material, and gesture and form. Inspired by the […]
- The Sound of MaterialA conversation with Masayo Ave, MasayoAve creation. Masayo Ave is an embodiment of cultural and disciplinary synthesis. One of Japan’s most intriguing design exports, Ave has practiced in Japan and Europe, and she brings expertise in architecture, product design, landscape, […]
- The Fluidity of Fabric
