INTELLIGENT

BUILDING SKIN
Presented by
C. Arvind Krishnan
18GA002
INTRODUCTION TO INTELLIGENT SKIN
 Façades are the most strategic and visible part of the building
which leads to an improvement in appearance and
environmental performances in buildings. Facades play a
significant role in the quality of a building.

 It forms the barrier between the internal space and the outside
climate. This means that the façade is the medium through
which the interaction takes place between the activities, inside
and outside.

 In recent practices, architects and engineers are strategically

designing and installing dynamic facades not only for their
aesthetic values, but also for improving the buildings’ energy
performance.
INTRODUCTION TO INTELLIGENT SKIN
 Buildings able to adapt to changing climatic conditions are called
intelligent buildings.

 Instead of shutting the environment out, it makes more sense to

make use of it since this will have a positive impact on the comfort
level of the occupants as well as on the energy consumption.

 This adaptiveness enables an intelligent building envelope to cope

with new situations and solve problems that arise in its interaction
with the environment.

 An intelliget facade is not characterized primarily by how much it is

driven by technology, but instead by the interaction between the
facade, the buildigs services and the environment.
WHY DO WE NEED INTELLIGENT SKIN

 Recent studies show that the majority of people spend up to

90% of their time indoors especially in hot climates. This
trend has had a high impact on the requirements of the
indoor environment, consequently turning the buildings
into complex devices that ensure the wellbeing of the
people who use them.
 The climatic conditions in any geographical location vary
through the course of time, between day and night,
between seasons. Building skins must damp the extremes
of climate to make the interiors comfortable.
 The need for intelligent skin to improve the performance of
a building fabric by reducing the need for imported energy
for heating, cooling, lighting and ventilation.
 To form an integral part of building aesthetics by
determining visual identity and character of expression.
AIM
The aim of the dissertation is to explore the field of parametric
architecture with intelligent building skin systems at the center. To
know how parametric systems are integrated with computational design
process to come up with building skins that are adaptive and responsive
to the climatic conditions and its relevance in Indian context with its
practical application in corporate sector .

SCOPE
Intelligent skins help in new performance in the energy sector, control of
indoor environments, and responsiveness to user activities. Looking to
the future, these set out the principles for the design of the intelligent
building envelop.
It highlights an exciting new approach to the area, where the fabric of
the building responds to external changes and internal demands.

Since a lot of smart cities are evolving and rapid growth in residential
and commercial sector, there is need to explore such new technologies in
Indian context.
Research Question
 Effectiveness and application of intelligent skins for
corporate buildings in the Indian context.

Objectives
 Explores a new approach to intelligent buildings,
focusing on the fabric of the building responding to
external changes and internal demands.
 The prime objective is to control internal environment
through an adaptive and responsive building fabric.
 Methodology

An action research method involves designing and performing tasks,

which will be directly executed by the digital and physical tools and
reflecting on their performance.
Outcome of the study
 Enhanced knowledge of intelligent skins, namely
performance based and active facades.
 Relevance of intelligent skins in terms of climate
sensitivity and energy consumption
 To develop a system and tested against climatic model
of Chennai, with its practical application in corporate
sector and evaluated for performance
Aspects of Intelligent building skin

 Structural adaptations is seen as a by-product of the interdependence

between geometry, material and fabrication based affordances in order
to produce structurally stable component variations (e.g.Creating
morphological variations of the same component in terms of shape,size)

 Physiological adaptations in the case of building components is directly

linked with the manner in which the component can deal with issues of
self sustainment (e.g.energy conservation, power generation,
distribution and circulation abilities)

 Behavioral adaptations is closely associated with the domain of

responsive interaction which the component should inherit in order to
successfully survive and communicate with its context in both active
and pro-active ways (e.g. information exchange abilities, ambient
abilities, sensorial abilities)
Lycée Albert Camus, Foster + Partners
Responsive skin
 As a principle element of architecture, technology
advancement has made the wall dynamic part of the
building. The traditional objectives of wall has been
redefined: static became fluid, opaque became transparent,
barrier became filter and boundry boderless. Combination
of smart materials, intelligent systems, engineering has
significantly enhanced architectural spaces.
 The term responsive suggests immediate action against a
stimulus. The phrase Responsive architecture was coined
by Nicholas Negroponte, who first envisioned it during the
late nineteenth century when spatial design problems were
being explored by applying cybernetics to architecture. He
proposed that responsive architecture is the natural
product of the integration of computing power into built
spaces and structures, and that better performing, more
rational buildings are the result.
Sensing, Actuating and Controlling
 It is an evolving subject in architecture which measures actual
environmental conditions (via sensors) to enable buildings to
adapt their form, shape, colour or character responsively (via
actuators). Its aim is to refine and extend the discipline of
architecture by improving the energy performance of buildings
with responsive technologies (sensors / control systems /
actuators). Responsive architecture is defined by Meyboom et al
(2010) as an architectural “system that causes change to its
environment.”
 The three main aims of adaptive skin are - energy efficiency,
regulation of internal conditions and achieving a new sense of
aesthetics and dynamic spatial effects.
 BMS concept
Essential element of the skin is the brain in the form
of building management system. It is the central
processing unit which receives information through
various sensors and then determines the response to
various elements. BMS is able to direct any weather
change and controls the operation of both passive and
active environmental systems to ensure efficient
energy use.
 Autonomic respond concept

It is an involuntary action when fabric of the building

changes itself dynamically in response to climate
change to reduce energy requirements. The idea of
manual change advancd into automatic, mechanical
and motorized change or adjustments.
MODEL PROTOTYPING
Pattern and form genesis
•Variable geometry structures (VGSs) have the function of responding to
changing situations in their use, operation or location, by modifying their
configuration.

•The mechanism is driven by actuators composed of smart materials or more

traditional hydraulic engines.

•VGSs can be classified according to their structural system:

-Wave: Sliding and Rotating
- Square-tic: Sliding and Retracting
-Scissornet: Contracting and Expanding
-Triangular: Expand and retract
- Rigid-foldable origami
Model Prototyping
Wave: Sliding and Rotating

Full rotation of the kinetic panels of Front view of panels components

the wave producing different surface with the rod which producing
and configuration. different dynamic motion.
Model Prototyping
Square-tic: Sliding and Retracting

Prototype of Square-tic demonstrated

three different kinetic states transform
through sliding movement.
Model Prototyping
Scissornet: Contracting and Expanding

Movement of the kinetic facade

demonstrating the contracting and
expanding behaviour.
Model Prototyping
Triangular: Expand and retract

Part of the kinetic composition indicating

movements of different layer to create
different transparency.
Model Prototyping
Rigid-foldable origami
 Morphogenomics
Morphogenomics, a relatively new area, involves
understanding the role played by information
regulation in the emergence of diverse generated
morphologies. Performative building skin systems as a
bottom-up parametric formation of communicating
components leading to the development of continually
performative systems.
LITERATURE STUDIES

AL BAHAR TOWERS
Project Description
Country: Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Climate: Hot Arid climate
Designer: Aedas Architects Building
Function: Office Building
Pattern system: triangular automated
shading system
Pattern features: Shading oriented
strategy, filtering light.
Facade construction system: Steel
structural frame, glass curtain wall
Urban context: Eastern Ring Road, in
the heart of Abu Dhabi
 AL BAHAR TOWERS
Concept
 The project concept is inspired by the
traditional Islamic object the
“Mashrabiya” which is a wooden lattice
screen found in traditional Islamic
architecture and used as a device for
achieving privacy and environmental
control including natural ventilation,
solar control, and glare reduction.

 Al bahar towers is a modern

interpretation of Mashrabiya. The
“Mashrabia” at Al Bahar Towers consist
of a series of transparent umbrella-like
modules that open and close in response
to the sun’s path. Every one of the two
towers contains more than one thousand
individual shading devices.
 AL BAHAR TOWERS
•The design is driven from its
context, taking into account
environment, tradition, and
technology. This initial sketch
illustrates the integration of these
elements.

•The two circular towers are clad

with weather-tight glass curtain
wall. The curtain wall is
comprised of unitized panels with
a floor-to-floor height of 4200
mm and a variable width of 900–
120 mm.

• The curtain wall is separated

from the kinetic shading system
through a substructure by means
of movement joints. Each
mashrabiya was conceived as a
unitized system, cantilevering 2.8
m from the primary structure.
AL BAHAR TOWERS-
PATTERN TECHNOLOGY

 Each unit comprises a series of

stretched PTFE
(polytetrafluoroethylene) panels
and is driven by a linear actuator
that will progressively open and
close once per day in response to a
pre-programmed sequence
that has been calculated to
prevent direct sunlight from
striking the façade

 The entire installation is

protected by a variety of sensors
that will open the units in the
event of overcast conditions.
AL BAHAR TOWERS- PATTERN
TECHNOLOGY
Shading system
 The folding system transforms the
shading screen from a seamless veil
into a lattice-like pattern that, when
necessary, provides either shade or
light.
 This reduces solar glare, while
providing better visibility by avoiding
dark tinted glass and internal blinds
that distort the appearance of the
surrounding view.
 This system offers a better admission
of natural diffused light. This reduces
the use of artificial light and the
associated energy costs.
A preliminary assessment carried out during the design phase showed
how the external Mashrabiya helped reduce the capital cost of the cooling
system by approximately 15%, achieving a 20% electricity load saving as a
result of the smaller cooling plants.
Al Bahar Towers- Structure and Material
•The exceptional levels of transparency
adopted for the towers and the resulting
increased daylighting were made possible
by a careful selection of the mesh
material of the movable Mashrabiya
shading system sitting in front of the
façade. PTFE-coated glass fibre mesh was
identified as the most durable and best-
performing solution.

•PTFE fiberglass coating is capable of

withstanding high temperatures and it is
a ‘self-cleaning’ fabric, which helps
reducing cleaning and maintenance time.
The final fabric presented an open area of
15% and a light transmission of 25%.
Al Bahar Towers- Structure and Material
•The shading device system contains
stainless steel supporting frames,
aluminum dynamic frames, and
fiberglass mesh infill.

•The folding system transforms the

shading screen from a seamless veil into
a lattice-like pattern to provide shade or
light. Each shading device comprises a
series of stretched
polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) panels.

•When the shading device is closed,

occupants can still see through from
inside to the outside
Helio Trace Centre of Architecture
Project Description
•Country: New York, United States
of America
•Climate: Humid subtropical climate
•Designer: Skidmore, Owings and
Merrill LLP
•Building Function: Office building
•Pattern system: Strata
•Pattern features: Decreasing of
solar gain, Decrease the daytime use
of artificial lights with daylight, and
air conditioning with natural
airflow, react to ecosystem, form and
function
•Facade construction system:
Kinetic curtain walll
 Helio Trace Centre of Architecture
Concept
•The main concept of Helio trace center is keeping the track of the sun
path over the course of a day and a year. This design has both linguistic
and biological generative system approaches.

•Its morphology takes and organic transformation when expanding like

shy plants, shy plant is a sensitive plant that shrinks or expanding
itself when touched or shaken.

•This kinetic pattern will expressively develop daylight whereas

decreasing solar heat gain impacts on building residents.
Helio Trace Centre of Architecture
Pattern Technology
•Facade technology of Helio Trace Centre developed a worldwide design
which was programmed to be carried out any place in the world, by
adapting to location attributes, orientation, and sun path.

•When activated, the units extend to form a continuous surface that

consists of a series of slices, and when retracted the units disappear,
actuator movement is exactly like car wiper.

• The sheets expand and retract towards the center performing a pyramid
shape.
Helio Trace Centre of Architecture
Shading System
•Helio Trace maintains the precise balance between shade and sun. A mobile
external sunshade blocks out the rays when required, architects can modify the
system to climate, sun path and processes schedules.

•Helio Trace system mechanism’s three objectives: to decrease glare, increase

daylighting, and control solar heat gain.
Helio Trace Centre of Architecture
Shading System

• Glare studies (at the top), with baseline analysis at its left and enhanced
analysis at its right.

•Daylight levels (at the middle) were adjusted to avoid extreme illumination (at
middle left) which can be a reason of glare and to help increasing energy savings,
also to provide user comfort.

•Finally, the problem of high solar gain (at bottom left) was analyzed regarding
the systems external shades, all of them together can cut the peak solar gain by
 Helio Trace Centre of Architecture
Structure and Material
•Helio Trace centre has Strata technology that contains modular units, when
retracted, the units hide within a single section of the module.

•Every adaptive shading unit of the kinetic façade has twelve pieces, four
perpendicular and eight parallel units, each one has five metal sheets.

• Every adaptive shading unit of the kinetic façade has twelve pieces, four
perpendicular and eight parallel units, each one has five metal sheets.
• A small beams are welded with the sheets to keep the unit stable structurally.
PARAMETRIC STRATERGY