Vertebrae Staircase / Andrew McConnell
Inspired by the spine of a whale, the Vertebrae Staircase is not simply mimicry of organic form but an exploration in shaping structure. Much of the design work went into refining the single component, or vertebra, that mate with each other creating a unified spine running from floor plate to floor plate. These interlocking vertebrae create a rigid and self-supporting structure.
More on Andrew McConnell‘s ‘Vertebrae Staircase’ after the break.
TEDx: Metal that breathes / Doris Kim Sung
Biology student turn architect, Doris Kim Sung has dedicated her studies to the infinite possibilities of thermobimetals, smart materials that respond dynamically to temperature change. As tested with DO|SU Studio Architecture’s recent installation “Bloom”, whose surface is completely fabricated with thermobimetal, these smart materials are capable of relieving our dependence on energy-inefficient mechanical systems with their self-shading and self-ventilating properties.
Imagine a building skin capable of maintaining thermal comfort in an environmentally responsible and cost effective way by responsively mimicking the characteristics of human skin.
How 3D Printing Will Change Our World (Part II)
Today, 3D Printing technology lives in the realm of small plastic tchotchkes. But economists, theorists, and consumers alike predict that 3D printers will democratize the act of creation and, in so doing, revolutionize our world. Which poses an interesting quandary: what will happen when we can print houses?
Last week, I discussed the incredible capabilities of 3D Printing in the not-so distant future: to quickly create homes for victims of disaster/poverty; to allow the architect the freedom to create curvy, organic structures once only dreamed of. But, if we look a little further afield, the possibilities are even more staggering.
In the next few paragraphs, I’ll introduce you to Neri Oxman, an architect and MIT professor using 3D Printing technology to create almost-living structures that may just be the future of sustainable design. Oxman’s work shows how 3D Printing will turn our concept of what architecture – and the architect – is, completely on its head.
Video: Michael Pawlyn discusses Biomimicry in Architecture
Check out this condensed video, provided by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), featuring Michael Pawlyn. As many architects have been inspired by nature, Pawlyn concentrates on biomimicry’s potential to influence the function rather than the form of a building. He believes a functional revolution needs to occur, stating we need to focus on a radical increase in resource efficiency, a shift to closed-looped systems and the transformation from our current fossil fuel economy to a solar economy. With the natural world as our living proof, Pawlyn believes all three of these challenges are crucial and achievable.
Want more? Check out this interview with Michael Pawlyn on Biomimicry and his book Biomimicry in Architecture.
Reference: RSA
Learning from Coral to make Cement
Biomineralization expert and Stanford scientist Brent Constantz has found a way to mimic the way coral builds reefs, by creating cement from carbon dioxide and water. Constantz was inspired to pursue this idea when he learned that for every ton of Portland cement produced a ton of carbon dioxide is emitted. The process in which Constantz is proposing actually removes carbon dioxide from the air. Constantz’s company, Calera, has a demonstration plant on California’s Monterrey Bay that uses waste CO2 gas from a local power plant and dissolves it into seawater to form carbonate, which mixes with calcium in the seawater and creates a solid.
Reference: fastcompany.com
Interview: Michael Pawlyn on Biomimicry
The Economist featured an interview with Michael Pawlyn discussing sustainable architecture inspired by nature. Michael Pawlyn is known for his passionate investigations of the unique, efficient structures of natural organisms and how they may translate through design. Biomimicry has been an important topic amongst the innovators and educators who are learning from the 3.8 billion years invested into the design of our natural world.
The shell of an abalone is “twice as strong as the toughest man-made ceramic.”
Continue reading for the complete interview.
