Phototropia
Chair for Computer Aided Architectural Design www.caad.arch.ethz.ch
Phototropia
a self-sufficient architectural vision Phototropia is part of an ongoing series on the application of smart materials in an architectural context and was realized in April 2012 by the Master of Advanced Studies class at the Chair for CAAD, supervised by Manuel Kretzer. It merges self-made electro-active polymers, screen-printed electroluminescent displays, eco-friendly bioplastics and thin-film dye-sensitized solar cells into an autonomous installation that produces all its required energy from sunlight and responds to user presence through moving and illuminating elements. The generated energy is stored in batteries below the platform and then distributed via microcontrollers to the respective elements.
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Phototropia finds its inspiration in participative and transient systems, proposed by visionaries like Yona Friedman or Constant Nieuwenhuys paired with a candid curiosity for selfmade (smart) materials and an aversion towards mechanistic kinetic systems. It is a proposal for an experimental architecture that can decay while actively being renewed, as a response to our times of tremendous globalization, increased connectivity and digital identity within our information based society.
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MAS 2011/12 Team: Katia Ageeva, Diana Alvarez, Orestis Argyropoulos, Stella Azariadi, Tianyi Chen, Yun-Ying Chiu, Ivana Damjanovic, García Pepo Martínez, Melina Mezari, Bojana Miskeljin, Evangelos Pantazis, Stanislava Predojevic, Stylianos Psaltis, Meda Radovanovic, Daniel Rohlek, Miro Roman, Castro Mauricio Rodríguez, Teemu Seppänen, Grete Soosalu Supervision: Manuel Kretzer
Thanks to: Luke Franzke, Florian Wille / ZHdK IAD Paul Liska / EPFL LPI Andrei Prutaneu, Agostino di Figlia / TU Delft ES group Jorge Ellert / ULANO Corp. Beat Karrer / Studio Beat Karrer John Meschter / G24 Innovations
Master of Advanced Studies Computer Aided Architectural Design http://www.mas.caad.arch.ethz.ch/ http://www.mas.caad.arch.ethz.ch/mas1112/
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Materiability www.youtube.com/caadeap
Manuel Kretzer, 2012