Metereosensitive user-controllable skin for dynamic façades

Data di pubblicazione

02-07-2019

Codice

DICA.18.069.A

Stato

Disponibile

Data di priorità

01-01-1970

Fase

Italian and PCT Patent Granted

Titolare

Politecnico di Milano e Politecnico di Torino

Dipartimento

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Autori

MARIANI Stefano, BOLDINI Alain, PILLA Andrea, TAVANTI Matilde, COLANGELO Marco

Descrizione

In the context of high performance buildings, adaptive or dynamic skin façades represent a promising and efficient strategy to ensure daylight and thermal comfort and to reduce energy consumption. The patent consists in an innovative dynamic façade system with morphing shading elements, actuated through shape memory materials. In the system, sun sensitivity and autonomous actuation are merged with the vital feature of user controllability and interaction. Inspired by nature, just as sunflowers move petals in response to sunlight, the designed shading system dynamically adapts its wing-like elements to the incoming radiation, adjusting their folded/unfolded configuration. The mechanism is possible thanks to the use of shape memory materials that possess the unique characteristic of memorizing shapes that can be recovered through the application of external stimuli. The external layer, actuated by a shape memory polymer, allows a completely autonomous passive (zero-energy) control of the building interiors’ conditions. Moreover, the integration of a further shape memory alloy-actuated opaque internal layer grants the possible implementation of the resulting structure in real buildings, conciliating comfort, well-being and performances (adaptive comfort) and allowing personal control of living and working environments. These modules are assembled together to create an adaptive skin to be inserted into a double façade cavity, in order to assure at the same time the benefit of higher durability of the solution.

Campo di applicazione

Façades of: Iconic buildings Pavilions Permanent expositions

Vantaggi

The patent proposes the idea of an adaptive shading module, able to change its origami and kirigami inspired shape in response to the incoming solar radiation. The aim is to produce a building skin that is attuned to climatic changes and which creates occupants’ awareness of the outer environmental variation. In particular, the exploitation of the physical properties of shape memory materials and of a folding/unfolding geometry are promising to guarantee internal daylight comfort with nearly zero-energy actuation and to reduce system complexity, if compared to kinetic envelopes which rely on sensors, motors, and computational feedback loops that correct interior conditions in response to external variations. In addition to its autonomous actuation, the façade is able to guarantee to the user a manual and interactive control of the system. The design of the façade also provides an aesthetic value, contributing to the integration of form and technology. The understanding of the material and geometry of the module is fundamental to ensure an effective design, and allows adaptability and personalisation of the façade.

Stadio di sviluppo

Prototype

Contatto

licensing.tto@polimi.it