unconventional solar screens

UNCONVENTIONAL SOLAR SCREENS

article by Professor Alessandro Premier & Amina Deho

to read the article online click here

“Shapes of screening elements have evolved very quickly in the last decade. The introduction of new materials and technology has allowed designers to break free of classiications and propose solutions that could be described as “unconventional”. Much of this success is due to the introduction of innovative materials such as technical fabrics, composite materials, but especially to the use of smart materials and technologies. The model proposed by Jean Nouvel has thus been simpliied and reworked in various ways. It is the basis of the “Homeostatic Facade System” project (2010) by the American Decker & Yeadon who, using dielectric polymers, created a screening system for double skin glass facades, consisting of a set of elements with organic shapes able to contract and relax like muscles using small electrical pulses with very low energy consumption. The project “Smart Screen” by the same Decker & Yeadon is a fabric characterised by numerous cuts able to open and close automatically depending on variations in the outside temperature. The Kinetower® project by Kinetura (Xaveer Claerhout & Barbara Van Biervliet) designed in 2008, instead features a visible structural matrix with a diamond pattern, each of which represents a large glass screened by a system of striations made of shape-memory material able to contract and relax, like the ingers of a hand, depending on different outside environmental conditions. Another very interesting aspect in the evolution of screening design is its integration with lighting technologies. The integration of screening with light represents another step forward towards design research carried out not only for improvement in protection from solar radiation but also for enhancement of expressive possibilities of architectural elements and thus of the architectural enclosure as a whole. A signiicant example is the theme pavilion recently created by Soma Architecture for Expo in Yeosu in South Korea where the screening, like the gills of a ish, are equipped with LEDs on the outside lap able to transform the building into an emitter of lights and colours at night. For a long time we have also witnessed thorough research on the integration of technical fabrics with photovoltaic technologies. This research generated the prototypes of Soft Houses by Kennedy & Violich Architecture and will certainly result in interesting developments in the very near future.

The design of these and other emblematic examples demonstrate that the materials and technologies available today offer the possibility of experimenting with screening with shapes and performance that were unthinkable a few decades ago. The possibility of turning designs into concrete creations often results from commissions of great importance and ambition but research, especially at this time of economic crisis, can and should also focus on products that can reach a wider audience. Some recent developments in academic research within the Unit “Colour and Light in Architecture” at University IUAV in Venice, coordinated by Prof. Pietro Zennaro, seem to show that this is possible, especially when a positive link is created between companies and researchers.”