Localized Rigidification of PCM Envelopes
This is an experimental and computational exploration of structural systems that transform between states of rigidity and flexibility. The goal is to…
61 results
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Coupling Facade and Structure
Traditional approach for engineering the facade is building an isolated analysis model. However, it inhibits a dynamic design process where architect…
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Collaborative Methodology for Fastracking Challenging Facade Concepts
The goal is to explore the role and methodology employed between the architect and engineer as they look to resolve the opposing demands of design ae…
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Sustainable Retrofit Strategies for an Existing Laboratory Building
This paper analyzes sustainable retrofit strategies for an existing research laboratory building, located in a cold climate. This facility is compose…
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Doubling Mies
Mies van der Rohe’s concurrently designed projects for Commonwealth Promenade Apartments (1953-1956) and the Esplanade Apartments (1953-1957), saw th…
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Highly Efficient Façades with Innovative Shading and Light Control
The Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) on the Allston Campus is the largest new building at Harvard University in recent decades with a footprint …
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Translation from Concept to Construction
Fidelity between the built enclosure and early visualizations is rarely, if ever, an accident. When achieved, it comes as the result of persistent ef…
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Optimized Adaptive Re-Use
Contemporary building practice represents a disconnect between traditional manufacturing techniques, that favor straight runs and orthogonal geometri…
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Innovative Façades for a Sustainable Architecture
Facades play a relevant role in the search for a more sustainable approach to modern architecture. The amount of embodied and operational energy can …
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Kinetic Solar Envelope
Kinetic responsive systems are gaining attention in architectural applications, to reduce the building’s energy consumption and environmental impact,…
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Form as Energy
All too often, high-performance building envelopes are considered in terms of new materials and technologies that push specific systems to improve en…
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Building Scale Mock-up
Until recently, Google has occupied buildings that were designed for others and modified the interiors to suit its needs. Many of the improvements we…
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Connections – Tolerance, Adjustability, Geometric Accuracy
Connections, those transitions between systems and materials, are critically important when the surfaces are curved or complex. Well-designed connect…
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Separating Direct From Diffuse
An Enclosure-Integrated, Daylighting, Tracking Solar Collector (EIDTSC) has been developed for market which integrates into a building’s fenestration…
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Case Study: Kao Ho Hospital Development, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
U-shaped annealed profiled glass, or U channel glass is used in both the interior and exterior glass façade for decades, as it has long and durable s…
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Hydroformed Shading
New approaches to lightweight metal forming have the potential to advance architectural fabrication, particularly in the design and engineering of hi…
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Catalytic Conversion
Nowadays, the power of images is seductive. Bold and complex facades often have an innovative appearance but superficial tectonic depth; experiential…
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Air Spaces Changed Everything
This abstract proposes that architectural facade design over the last 60 years has convulsed in light of two disruptions: air spaces which create ven…
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Infinite Panel System
Today, building facades are expected to do much more than merely provide shelter, which is driving the need for higher performing envelope solutions.…
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Carbon-Dioxide-Inhaling Facade
3.5 billion years ago, cyanobacteria created the foundation for life on Earth by producing the oxygen basis for our atmosphere. Should we once again …