[Arch Design] Responsive Transparency

Design Project | University of Stuttgart | Architecture and Urban Planning | 2018

A performative building envelope which deals with transparency.
Concept of this project is to create a building envelope as a “transformable skin”, which can change its transparency based on user input as well as environment condition.

Intro

Transparency may be an inherent quality of substance…or it may be an inherent quality of organization. One can, for this reason, distinguish between a literal transparency and a phenomenal transparency.

Colin Rowe —— Transparency:Literal and Phenomenal

Theory Study

Surface supplementary properties, like color, pattern and texture, can influence the visual weight and stability.
The study of gestalt theory also indicates that the whole is something else than the sum of its parts, our visual perception could be changed by the organization of elements.

visual study_surface supplementary properties & gestalt theory

visual study_color & pattern influence on 3D object

visual study_different material properties

visual study_configurations with changing transparency

visual study_configurations with changing color

Technology Possibilities

How can this skin system achieve its responsibility and adaptivity ?
The skin system is built with lots of modules, each module is a small element in square shape and can have different status. With swithable glass, the transparency property of the element can be changed. By adding a rotatable axis, the orientation of the element can be changed. Both can cause different visual influence.

switchglass can change its transparency (Reference: TN technology for architectural applications, Fraunhofer IRB Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany, 2017)

modular element with rotatable axis

Exploration - Responsive to User Input

The responsive building envelope will interact with the users.
Users can control the facade by drawing the patterns or sending pictures through the app on their mobile devices.
The facade in physical world will give the response based on the user input.