Pipe Light transforms used PVC piping and fittings into a light conveyor system.

PVC is third most widely consumed plastic today, and is heavily used in building construction due to its low price and relative longevity compared with many other materials. Over half of PVC is used to manufacture pipes—accounting for two-thirds of water distribution pipes and 75% of sanitary sewer pipes in the U.S. Unfortunately, PVC is not yet widely recycled, suggesting that alternative uses for these pipes must be found after they have outlived their initial lives.

Pipe Light is a project that transforms reused PVC pipes and fittings from conveyors of water to conveyors of light. Highly-reflective mirror film—such as multilayer optical film (MOF) made by 3M—is used to clad the interior surface of pipes so that they may transport light efficiently for long distances. Newly mirror-clad pipes may thus be inexpensively modified to propagate both daylight as well as point-source electrical light via the principle of total internal reflection (TIF).

Pipes may be modified with slits and diffuser strips in order to operate as linear fixtures, drilled with extraction holes of various shapes and sizes, or treated as point lights that extend an illumination source a particular distance. Standard pipes and fittings may be combined to form sculptural installations of varying complexity.

Modified PVC piping shown 1) with mirror film, 2) with point-source illumination transformed into a linear fixture, and 3) as an extended point light.

Tinted diffusion film enables color mixing across a space.

Pipe Light installed as a minimalist color-projecting sculpture.

Sculptural feature light viewed from below.

Sod brick construction of early homesteads is re-imagined as a contemporary wall system.

Sod was a typical building material used by early settlers of the American midwest. The densely-packed roots of buffalo or prairie cord grass provided good reinforcing for sod bricks, which were first cut by hand and then by plow starting in the 1880s. Sod bricks were stacked root-side up so that, as the roots continued to grow, each brick would connect with the one above it. The result was a very strong wall that required minimal or no grouting.

Although sod houses are a relic of the past associated with the hardships of homesteading, the environmental and self-structuring benefits of the material merit a second look. Early sod houses are characterized by a hand-built, disheveled appearance, but a process developed to create engineered sod blocks promises a more refined and precise wall assembly aligned with modern construction methods. After all—timber, brick, stone, and other natural materials have been highly-engineered, so why not grass-reinforced topsoil?

The New Sod House depicts one potential application of engineered sod. In this case, the blocks form the lower half of a wall that is structured by a light steel frame. Because this wall is merely self-supporting, it requires minimal reinforcement and sealing. Cast glass blocks of the same dimensions as the sod are interspersed within the wall to introduce more light.

Chrome postcard of the Sod House, Toadstool National Monument, Nebraska.

Detail of the Sod House, Toadstool National Monument, Nebraska. Photo taken in 2012.

Newly-engineered sod blocks have preformed joints, registration pegs, and holes for additional reinforcing if needed.

Like its hand-cut predecessor, engineered sod block may be exposed to the elements.

New Sod House, interior view showing backlit glass block inclusions.

Detail of engineered sod wall, showing modern application of so-called “Nebraska marble.”

China’s national commitment to clean tech is backed with government-imposed actions. Can the U.S., mired in political inaction, learn from the stands?

During a 2010 visit to Shanghai, I had a memorable conversation with Eric Phillips, AIA, who leads the Shanghai office of NBBJ. As we traversed the Huangpu River from Pudong to Puxi by ferry—not an experience for the faint-hearted, given the number and pace of boats plying the crowded waterway—we discussed the future of China, which is striving to balance industrial development with environmental priorities. One benefit of China’s top-down government, Phillips said, is that when its leaders want sustainability, rapid and decisive change happens.

The evidence is clear in China’s national development priorities: alternative energy, energy efficiency, environmental protection, biotechnology, advanced IT, high-end manufacturing, and new-energy vehicles. Simultaneously, the nation’s massive investment in college education will usher in a generation of knowledge-workers prepared to fulfill these priorities.

The results are staggering. In the last four years, China’s government-subsidized production of solar panels grew 17-fold, causing the price of silicon-based PV panels to plummet and driving non-Chinese manufacturers out of business. China now manufactures nearly half of the world’s solar panels.

Read more of Blaine Brownell’s article “Going Green, but with Missteps Along the Way” in Architect magazine.

The Telepresence Room provides an immersive teleconferencing experience and reduces unnecessary business travel.

Business-related travel hit a peak in 2007, with over 10 million U.S. aircraft departures. Although the economic recession and telecommuting have since caused this number to decrease, flights are once again on the rise. Not only is business travel expensive and energy-intensive, but it also results in a large CO2 impact. The inadequacy of current teleconferencing technology is largely to blame; thus, improvements would go a long way towards emulating face-to-face contact and reducing unnecessary trips.

The Telepresence Room incorporates advanced telecommunications and display technologies in an immersive architectural environment. Unlike typical conferencing facilities that place an isolated monitor in a typical meeting room, the Telepresence Room is designed to bridge two remote locations as if they were one space. Everything from the furniture to the lighting is paired in two or more satellite offices, and brought together seamlessly via an interface wall with embedded cameras. The latest frameless display technology is positioned within the occupants’ cone of vision, and mirror panels above and below the monitors complete the sense of immersion.

The result is simultaneously varied and united—with the ability to connect two disparate time zones, geographies, and climates, the Telepresence Room is the next best thing to teleportation.

New York 6:00 / Osaka 19:00. The Telepresence Room celebrates different locales at the same time that it unites them.

Vienna 14:00 / Tokyo 22:00. Dimmable lighting adjusts for wide ranges in light intensity.

An LG Cinema Screen with a 5 mm bezel. The Telepresence Room relies upon near-frameless video displays for its convincing effect. Image courtesy of LG.

The Sky Bower delivers high-impact, non-intrusive foliage to interior spaces.

Indoor plants provide many positive benefits for building occupants, including air purification and detoxification, oxygen production, and overall psychological well-being. According to Bayer Advanced, a minimum of one large plant should be placed every 129 square feet to improve health and reduce fatigue. The Sky Planter developed by Boskke is a suspended pot that allows plants to be added to interior spaces without reducing valuable floor or desk area.

The Sky Bower takes this idea further by aggregating multiple suspended pots into one large planting system. Like the Sky Planter, the Sky Bower delivers water slowly to roots while minimizing evaporation, and utilizes a cover that keeps soil in the pot. The Sky Bower has an integral drip-irrigation system that may be connected to standard plumbing and regulated similarly to an exterior watering system.

Unlike single potted plants which provide minimal, episodic greening, the Sky Bower delivers high visual and performative impact to interior spaces. Resembling a suspended tree canopy or arbor, the Sky Bower can be installed for individual or collective use, and may be customized to include adjustable up/down lighting and white noise audio effects.

Sky Planter individual units, by Boskke.

Detail of Sky Bower system suspended above individual desk.

Sky Bower shown with integral up/down lighting in a conference room.

Sky Bower section showing frame and inverted planters.

Sky Bower plan showing frame and individual planters.

Base Wall transforms discarded wall base into a new exterior cladding system.

Construction waste remains a significant global problem. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, building construction and demolition accounted for nearly 26 percent of total non-industrial waste generation in 2009. Although recycling efforts have improved, a more mobile society has resulted in more frequent retrofit projects; hence, more rapid construction waste generation.

The Base Wall project demonstrates a method for reusing one common building product that is frequently disposed: vinyl wall base. Although wall base is typically produced for a long-life in high-traffic areas, it rarely reaches functional obsolescence before it is replaced. In this application, wall base is transformed into a new exterior cladding system that is applied similarly to siding. Given the fact that vinyl is already in widespread use as a siding material, this application requires little imagination. However, unlike the wood-replacement alternative of vinyl in common use, the Base Wall embraces vinyl’s inherent geometric flexibility, and without the fake wood grain texture.

Because the Base Wall repurposes a material that remains difficult to recycle, it reduces the burden on landfills and creates a long-lasting cladding system. The product’s manufactured shape results in a lapped configuration with a natural drip edge, and it may be attached via an exterior grade, low-VOC adhesive—without the use of penetrating fasteners.

A sample of vinyl wall base. Image courtesy of M-D Building Products.

Base Wall detail, showing ability of material to conform to curvilinear geometries.

Base Wall wall section detail.

Base Wall elevation study, demonstrating the capacity to introduce color variety based on the reuse of existing feedstock.

A typical vinyl wall base color palette. Diagram courtesy of Flexco Floors.

Catalyst Studio: “Materials as Probes” with Billie Faircloth and Ryan Welch from KieranTimberlake @ University of Minnesota

Once a nemesis of buildings, mold, along with other organic life, is becoming a welcomed architectural feature.

First there were green roofs, then vertical gardens. Now there are microbial façades. Fungi and algae—once associated with decay and considered undesirable in architecture—have captured the attention of designers and researchers interested in the organisms’ latent aesthetic and practical potential.

The Structural Technology Group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona is developing a multilayered concrete cladding panel system designed to support the growth of mosses, fungi, and lichens. The biological concrete blends conventional Portland cement with the slightly acidic magnesium phosphate cement, which supports biological growth.

The façade system—the focus of UPC doctoral candidate Sandra Manso Blanco’s thesis—has four components: a waterproofing layer, a structural layer, a bioreceptive layer that promotes organism growth, and a reverse waterproofing layer that retains water for the plants. It promises several benefits, including carbon dioxide reduction, urban heat island effect mitigation, and applicability on existing structures. Perhaps its most compelling contribution is visual—a living patina that transforms every season.

Read more of Blaine Brownell’s article “Bring in the Fungi” in Architect magazine.

Self-repairing materials can lead to lighter, longer-lasting building components. But does less always mean more?

With the demand for more resilient and sustainable products, researchers have focused on self-repairing materials, which can withstand minor abuse and return to their original physical condition. Such materials would not only outlast their conventional counterparts, but also require less substance in their manufacturing, says Carolyn Dry, president of Natural Process Design (NPD). “The fact that structural damage can go undetected … means that some products are over-engineered. However, substances that can provide information about their internal stresses—as well as trigger reliable self-healing properties—allow manufacturers to be more confident in using lighter weight materials.”

Airplane components made from NPD’s ultralight graphite polymer composite, for example, weigh 30 percent less than standard components and also help reduce fuel consumption. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is also pioneering self-healing materials. Aerospace engineering professor Scott White has created polymers embedded with a chemical trigger and a microencapsulated healing agent. When the polymer is overstressed and cracks, it autonomically releases a healing agent into the rupture. Currently, it is limited to a onetime fix; White and his team are exploring a new generation of materials embedded with microvascular networks that can repeatedly self-heal. Potential building applications include elements in façades and high-traffic areas.

Read more of Blaine Brownell’s article “Healed Over” in Architect magazine.