RuMoer 61: BT Internationals| BouT | TU Delft

periodical for the Building Technologist

61. BT International

www.octatube.nl

MUURBLOEM Het ‘muurbloempje’ is geïnspireerd op een stoel van Hans J. Wegner uit 1949 (modelnummer PP - 152). De stoel van Wegner is gemaakt van teakhout en kan eenvoudig aan de wand worden gehangen. Dat laatste kan ook met deze stoel. Via een vaste beugel aan de muur is de stoel eenvoudig op te vouwen en op te hangen.Het basisframe is van aluminium, mede in verband met het gewicht.

Jan Brouwer +31 6 51 31 62 50• Chris Karthaus +31 6 46 32 70 21• info@brouhaus.nl•www.brouhaus.nl•www.brouwerarchitect.nl

EM

el van Hans 2). De stoel eenvoudig an ook met r is de stoel basisframe ewicht.

•

Jan Brouwer +31 6 51 31 62 50 Chris K

derksen|windt architecten

advBout_dec2015.indd 1

Cabinet 02.West.090 Faculty of Architecture Julianalaan 134 2628BL Delft The Netherlands PRAKTIJKVERENIGING

BOUT

student association for building technology

+31 (0)15 278 1292 www.praktijkverenigingbout.nl rumoer@praktijkverenigingbout.nl

COLOFON

RUMOER 61 - BT International 4th Quarter 2015 21st year of publication Praktijkvereniging BouT Room 02.West.090 Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft Julianalaan 134 2628 BL Delft The Netherlands

RUMOER is a periodical of Praktijkvereniging BouT, student and practice association for Building Technology (AE+T), at the Faculty of Architecture, TU Delft (Delft University of Technology). This magazine is spread among members and relations.

Circulation The RUMOER appears 3 times a year, with 150 printed copies circulation and digital copies made available to members through online distribution.

tel: +31 (0)15 278 1292 fax: +31 (0)15 278 4178 www.PraktijkverenigingBouT.nl rumoer@PraktijkverenigingBouT.nl

Membership Amounts per academic year (subject to change): € 10,- Students € 20,- PhD Students and alumni € 30,- Academic Staff € 80,- Companies

Printing Sieca Repro, Delft

Single copies Available at Praktijkvereniging BouT for € 7,50.

ISSN number 1567-7699

Sponsors Praktijkvereniging BouT is looking for (main) sponsors. Sponsors make activities possible such as study trips, symposia, lectures and much more.

There is also the possibility of advertising in the RUMOER: Black & White, full page € 100,Black & White, full page, 3x (once in every edition througout one year) € 250,Full color, full page € 200,-

Credits Edited by: Marc Nicolaï

Article editing: Marc Nicolaï

Jelmer Niesten

Rutger Oor

Ali Sarmad

Lefteris Siamopoulous Cover design: Cover image:

Marc Nicolaï BouT Studytrip, city of arts and sciences Valencia

Copy Files for publication can be delivered to BouT in .docx or .indd, pictures are preferred in .png or .jpg format.

Disclaimer The editors do not take any responsibility for the photos and texts that are displayed in the magazine. Images may not be used in other media without permission of the original owner. The editors reserve the right to shorten or refuse publication without prior notification.

CONTENT

12 - Sulcus Loci, UQ (Australia)

General 4

From The Board

6

U-Base: Value of Design

8

Valencia Studytrip Report

International

12 Sulcus Loci - University of Queensland 20

NexusHaus - TU M端nchen & UT Austin

26

A.A.: Curriculum Reflection

36 & 42- Graduation Reports!

2

Education 30

Bucky Lab Overview

34

SWAT Report

36

Graduation Report: Pierre Mostert

44

Graduation Report: Elia A. Galiouna

48

Thinking Skins (Workshop)

EDITORIAL

For the 61st edition of Rumoer, themed ‘ BT International’, we decided to take a better look at what is going on around the globe and got some interesting articles from some very enthusiastic people. Coincidentally this edition also contains the Studytrip Report of our week in Valencia.

We‘ve also got some BT students to tell us about their graduation projects and more on education in Bucky Lab, SWAT and the Thinking Facades workshop.

We had some slight delay with articles at the end (as is almost always the case really), luckily we were still able to publish just within our scheduled release month of December. Although the print edition might arrive a little late due to the christmas peak in postage.

I hope you enjoy this edition and wish you happy holidays and a successfull 2016!

Marc Nicolaï Rumoer 2015-2016

3

FROM THE BOARD

(left to right: Marc Nicolaï, Federico Riches, Carlijn van der Werf, Ali Sarmad, Roxanne Kiel, Ahmed Assad.)

The year 2015 is reaching its end and so is our board year.

What a great year it has been. We have had our first session with interested future board members last week and over christmas the first formal briefings will take place. We’re still looking for additional positions to be filled, so please contact us if you’re interested.

In the final week of December, Booosting has organised an afternoon for experts and other professionals on seismic innovations in building construction here in the faculty of Architecture. This was especially arranged by Job Schroën, the current coördinator of the EXTREME-studio about seismic design in Iceland.

The study trip to Valencia was another great succes. For the second year in a row, a study trip committee, with Rebecca Leising, Jik Mosch, Willem Koenen and Luis Emilio Lopez, organised a trip for 15 students and steady sidekick Erik Hehenkamp. From wednesdaynight november 11 to Tuesday morning November 17 the city was explored from early in the morning to early in the morning. The first knowledge was already exchanged on the airport of Valencia where Octatube, from one of our proud alumni’s Mick Eeckhout, has realised the facade. Amazing sites, three architectural firms and Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences was visited amongst many other fun activities.

Fran Silvestre Arquitectos enjoyed the students visit very much and is now partner of BouT.

The Bucky excursion for November had to be postponed, because the host had a back injury. Fortunately, new arrangements have been made and we will visit IHC’s Studio Metalix in the first week of January. Be sure to subscribe on our website! Studio Metalix specialises in manufacturing double curved perforated steel structures for architectural design with ship-manufacturing methods.

We will visit their ship-constructionplant in Kinderdijk.

Everyone is supposed to bring their safety shoes. The excursion will be open for all students from Building Technology and of course free for BouT-members. Keep an eye on our website and Facebook for updated program details.

4

Looking back at the past semester, some positive developments took place. There was a small restructuring of the board and we’re happy to have Nick ten Caat now also on board on behalf of Education. The website and Facebook had a facelift and we’ve cleaned the office.

the holidays. This issues shows many international experiences related to Building Technology and other interesting projects abroad. We’re looking forward to another fruitful year for BouT and all the members. It’s been fun!

This year BouT decided to take on a pilot project for a company day and formed a new committee to realise this. The DEBUT Committee consists of Merijn de Leur, Erik van den Broek, Andreja Andrejevic, Marc Postel and Joris Burger. Currently, they’re working hard to organise a company day for master students about Design and Engineering for Building Technology in the beginning of June 2016. Further info will be shared via our newsletters and Facebook. The company day committee can be reached via BTCompanyDay@praktijkverenigingbout.nl.

Enjoy this 61st edition of Rumoer over the course of

On behalf of the BouT-board, Carlijn van der Werf Chair 2015-2016

5

ValueofDesign Symposium

F

or many decades architects are designing buildings for extreme environments. However, forces are getting more and more extreme, predominantly caused by nature or requested by site specifics. One could think of, for example, high wind speeds, intense rainfall or natural disasters like tsunami’s but also of long span bridges above rough waters.

A

t first sight it seems like an engineering task to design buildings in a way that they resist extreme forces. However, to reach the best possible aesthetical and economical solutions an integral collaboration between architects, structural engineers and building engineers is vital. To start collaborating in the early phases of the design, architects are aware of the impact of structural aspects. By taking these aspects into account during the design phase, the highest quality could be achieved.

T

he symposium ‘Value of Design’ highlights the architectural part as well as the engineering part of several projects which have to deal with extreme forces, wherein collaboration between both is a main focus point. We should join forces to create, even within extreme environments, high quality architecture.

Organized by:

Extreme Forces

10 May 2016 / Aula Congrescentrum

Valencia Studytrip Report From 11 to 17 November a group of students from the TU Delft Architecture department went to visit Valencia and all it had to offer.

By Marc Nicola誰 The evening of our arrival in Valencia we immediately had our first presentation. The airport itself had been recently given a touch up in the form of a new glass facade (by Octatube). Lieuwe, who had been involved as an intern there could tell us a bit more about the project.

Afterwards we made our way into town to our hostel and had the somewhat dubious pleasure of enjoying a 1 Euro wednesday tapas deal at a local fast food tapas bar.

On our first full day in Valencia we got up early and made our way to the old centre of town where we visited the Mercado Central, the oldest covered market in Europe.

Today it still operates as a food market offering space to 300 small traders and attracting a lot of economic activity and tourism.

Around noon we went to visit the first office: Ramon Esteve architects. There we were very hospitably received and shown their office and their promotional material.

The last objective of the day was the Valencia University language center. Regrettably this building was not open to us and we could only appreciate it from the outside.

On Friday we started with the Veles e Vents building in the harbor area of Valencia. This building was built as part 8

9

of the reorganisation of the northern part of the harbor to facilitate the America’s Cup sailing event. During the event it was used as a lounge and observation platform for visitors.

Next we went to visit La Marina de Empresas where we were received by architects from RStudio, Jose Marti and Amparo Roig, and several of the staff of the school. The buildings housed a brand new business school and a start-up incubator in the spirit of enabling more start-ups to flourish in Valencia.

Finally we went to visit Calatrava’s buildings at the city of arts and sciences to get a first glimpse of these Urban sculptures and the park.

Saturday we started with a bike tour through the old part of town and the green river (the old river turned park) all the way down to the city of arts and sciences. The bike tour guide gave us these wise words: “Valencia is a beautiful city, but it also has many problems that we can learn from.”

Afterwards we went to visit the Nozomi Sushi Bar to see its newly designed interior, which turned out to be slightly disappointing and taught us the difference between photography and reality.

On day 4 we went to visit the Institut Valencia d’Art Modern (or the modern art museum of Valencia), while the great marathon of Valencia was going on just outside (and left many plastic bottles in its wake). This great museum and the wonderful expositions it had to offer are a great step towards a more established modern art scene in Spain.

After a great tapas lunch (which had become a daily ritual) we also went to visit the El Musical cultural center. Another building that was only recently finished and we were lucky enough to get into the foyer with permission of the theater director, although we couldn’t see the theater hall itself due to ongoing rehearsals.

10

On our final day in Valencia we visited one of the offices of Fran Silvestre Architects, a building of theirs housing two unique collections and one of their projects that was under construction (a luxury home in one of the suburbs).

Afterwards we went to the city of arts and sciences again, this time we visited the IMAX theatre in the ‘Eye’ and early in the evening we had an extensive tour of the opera house building leaving us exhausted and fulfilled after many busy days and nights. Although that night we still had a ‘bonte avond’ that left most of us with serious sleep deprivation. Thank you Valencia for a wonderful week!

11

Sulcus Loci - University of Queensland, Australia Sulcus Loci is a collaborative effort of several departments of the University of Queensland to create an interactive pavillion.

The UQ team was kind enough to get in touch with us and supply us with the material for this article.

12

BACKGROUND This project was initiated by The University of Queensland Art Museum (UQ Art Museum) as part of a broader program to engage students and academics in a creative nexus of the arts, science and environment. More specifically, the aim of the project was to bring the Queensland Brain Institute’s Art in Neuroscience program into the public arena. This collaborative project has brought together seven organisations across the University, including the Schools of Architecture, Information Technology & Electrical Engineering, Music and Communication & Arts along with QBI and UQ Art Museum.

Brisbane artist Dr. Svenja Kratz was commissioned to undertake a residency in the School of Architecture’s Collaborative Laboratory (CoLAB) working with Luke Hammond (QBI) to interpret QBI’s extensive collection of brain scans and develop a conceptual brief for students in the Master of Architecture and Masters of Multimedia /Interaction Design programs to create an immersive exhibition environment.

The result is Sulcus Loci; an interactive architectural pavilion that houses an experiential artwork developed

by Kratz and music composer Dr Eve Klein (UQ School of Music). The working prototype was completed in November 2015 and will be exhibited at the State Library of Queensland as part of the inaugural Asia Pacific Architecture Forum in March 2016. The Forum coincides with the World Science Festival Brisbane and The 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art.

13

Working @ 1:1

By Oliver Shearer and Shuwei Zhang – Master of Architecture Students Opportunities to build to 1:1 as part of an architecture degree are not only rare but also challenging. This studio offered the opportunity to develop designs through digital and physical prototyping then realise them at full-scale providing a glimpse into the journey from the idea to reality.

Entitled “Optimised Geometries”, the brief for the studio was to study structures such as Frei Otto’s Munich Stadium and learn through this form of design thinking to create a pavilion that could hold 4-6 people and house a small sculpture. This project offered an exciting opportunity to work beyond the boundaries of architecture and collaborate with the disciplines of art, science and interaction design.

An initial series of analogue investigations allowed us to be in complete control of the creative process, unhindered by software. These included soap bubble experiments playing with fabric and forming plaster models using latex gloves and water balloons. From these experiments we were able to recognize how geometry reacted naturally to different conditions – to understand optimised geometries. With the knowledge gained through these hands-on experiments, we were able to develop these concepts into large scale built form. The challenge wasn’t as simple as taking these early studies into the digital realm then designing a pavilion in isolation. The project 14

Concept sketches.

15

approved for latest issue author

reviewer

PRINT LOG : 4/09/2015 9:37:41 PM PLOT FILE RECORD : F:\Masters of A\4th Year Semester 2\ARCH7012 Research\Main Pavilion Design\RVT\For Construction.rvt

1415

scale

918

14 161

90°

42

A2

885

002

2

B1 73 °

13

14

° 3.1

136 10

117.2 °

146

7°

2088

62.8 °

699

168

38 10

° .2 66

.6° 50

° 9.4 12

B2

° 3.8 11

12

07 10

142

490

002

514

C1

163 11 1.

11

12

9°

134

4° 10

7°

140

° 76

3

53°

68 .1°

90 °

12

145.7 °

34

C2

4.3°

134

563

2800 145 3°

D2

112.

67.1

°

1012

116.

° 63.7

1035

546

9°

10

141 002

4

150

.5° 93 12 0°

60 °

.5° 86

D1

9

3539

837

114.

° 65.1

130

646

143

9°

E2

63 .8 °

11 6.2 °

641

145

002

5

131

.4° 84 10

.3°

.6° 95 70

E1

8

9.7°

3830

980

7000

998

138 563 545

002

6

11

11

145 6.5°

0.7 °

69 .3°

F2

412

3227

438

132 10

6

0.1°

.8° 38

G1

10 9.4 °

137 14

208

986

1

.9°

1.2°

1012

79

003

138

10 8.9 °

139

71 .1°

F1

5° 63.

7

70 .6°

65 6 72 8

° 4.2 15

H1

90°

131

131 98 .2°

93 .2°

G2

494

130

4

9 13

1024

I1

111.1 °

995

525

3

3099

138

81.5 ° 3 00

98.5 °

86 .8°

78

003

2

5

115.8°

81 .8°

68.9°

2537

3

99.7 °

132

125.3°

500

80.3 °

54.7°

159

72 18

H2

1065 67.4°

2 1102

500

112.6°

1 14

I2 1

500

500

500

500

500

500

500

500

500

4500

I

H

G

F

E

D

C

B

A

The base of the pavillion.

J

16

843

With so many stakeholders and collaborators involved the only effective way to move forward was for the students to be democratic (often voting on the ‘best’ option), to allow others sufficient time to complete their part of the project. Each week, we would refine and tweak the iterations of our designs, and present them to all parties; and through discussion pushed the design in new directions to meet multiple objectives.

This process allowed us to learn to deal with the different stakeholders each with their own agendas, and also showed us the entirely different worlds within the same campus; different worlds to which we had been both oblivious to and unaccustomed to working with. This was especially true with the close working relationship we had with the Interactive Design (IxD) students. Interestingly there are many similarities between the processes and thinking of IxD and architecture studios. The IxD team exposed us to new technology and software which has sparked our interest in human responsive /interactive design thinking and opened up new possibilities for our approach to architecture.

1 : 10 at A1

C

130

93.3°

pupose of issue

E

A1

date

G 002

1

issue

I

15

86.7°

126.9°

702

demanded interaction with a variety of collaborators and stakeholders. We felt somewhat pressured given the number of external parties and the public nature of the project. Not only did we have the challenge of a structure to design based on principles somewhat new to us, but this was out first experience design with collaborators from outside of our own discipline.

Daunting at first, the project has been an exciting and invaluable experience, we learned that architecture can sometimes be very introspective.

1838

1485 issue

date

415

FRAME A

2057

78 1

LEVEL 1 0.000

190

161

A1

476 151.2°

136 .8°

43.2 °

18.2°

RL

285

82 5

28.8°

10 19

° 6.2 12

.8° 53

161.8°

HIGHEST INTERNAL POINT

2198

HIGHEST POINT

10 20

2027

1874

HIGHEST POINT

1485

585

PRINT LOG : PLOT FILE REC

RL

270

B1

FRAME B

A2

LEVEL 1.5 RL 1.100

1838

HIGHEST INTERNAL PONIT

183 8

85 14

LEVEL 1.5 RL 1.100

RL

334

LEVEL 1 0.000

B2

LEVEL 2 3.100

RL

LEVEL 2 3.100

2642

230 2

02 23

LEVEL 1.5 RL 1.100

1541

2150

2252

2772

HIGHEST POINT

HIGHEST INTERNAL POINT

2922

HIGHEST INTERNAL POINT

1603

91 6

1367

°

°

LEVEL 1 0.000

.8 86

C1

FRAME C

RL

134

°

90 4

°

.2 93

50.8

.8 75

68 .2°

.2° 129

° 4.2 10

130

D1

C2

D2

RL

LEVEL 2 3.100

26 01

HIGHEST INTERNAL POINT

LEVEL 1.5 RL 1.100 1516

1566

1557

2879

3040 2348

2460

LEVEL 1.5 RL 1.100

HIGHEST POINT

2779

273 7

01 26

HIGHEST INTERNAL PONIT

LEVEL 1 0.000

FRAME D LEVEL 2 RL 3.100

2737

2924

RL

168

1611

1409

11 1.8 °

140

HIGHEST POINT

0 74

0 71

131 180

E1

FRAME E

10

71 .2°

82 .2 °

97 .8 °

RL

LEVEL 1 0.000

8.8 °

° 7.2 10

.8° 72

133 .8°

46.2 °

2781

2621

HIGHEST POINT

2 264

LEVEL 1.5 RL 1.100

137

E2 FRAME F

F1

136

RL

scale

LEVEL 1 0.000

1 : 20 at A1

F2

Frame sections of the pavillion.

17

The design was developed using Grasshopper and Rhino with final documentation produced in Revit.

Our main challenge was not learning the fundamental capability of these ubiquitous programs but learn how to fabricate our designs. Having never built anything of this size or complexity ourselves, we learned to use power tools and apply ideas we’d learned other courses. We detailed bracing on the run, figured out how various types of fixings worked and that timber structures are heavy. We learned to expect the unexpected, that neither fabric nor timber framing always work the way we think they might and that sometimes things fail. We learned from our failures and moved on.

The building process was the most exciting part of the project. A few intensive days in the CoLAB together erecting the structure connected the group in a way a typical design studio couldn’t. The process wasn’t entirely smooth, what has been opened up for the students, was extremely rewarding; building a 1:1 model has changed the way we look at design, and the lessons learnt have already changed the way we are thinking about other structures.

18

TEAM

Curators

Dr Allison Holland -UQ Art Museum/School of Communication and Arts Luke Hammond (Queensland Brain Institute) John de Manincor (School of Architecture)

Artist

Dr Svenja Krantz

Music Composer

Dr Eve Klein (School of Music)

Studio leaders

Kim Baber (Baber Studio / School of Architecture) Dr Stephen Viller (IxD) Dr Ben Matthews (IxD)

IxD Students

En Bo David Chaseling Jacob Greenaway Bianca Pretorius Rachael Smith

Architecture Students

CorinaCostin Charl Jesse Du Plessis WanniFonseka Jordan Hunter Jessica Kane Kaori Koike Rebekah Macarthur Bernardo Ramirez Fernandez De Lara Oliver Shearer Cheng Tan Duong Thai Daniel Thompson RuiyiXu Shuwei Zhang 19

NexusHaus

The entry of The University of Texas at Austin and The Technische Universität München for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition 2015

by Petra Liedl, Adam Pyrek, Michael Garrison and Werner Lang

‘Imagine that during yet another prolonged central Texas drought you do not fret about dying landscaping or water bills, but instead you would be pleased to know how much electricity your home is producing during those sunny days. Imagine that as you lay in bed and hear the rain and thunder you do not worry about possible flash flooding in your neighborhood or driving to work for hours in traffic, but instead you could quickly check how much precious water you are collecting. You would find yourself in a comfortable and healthy home, in a centrally located part of the town, but without undue mortgage payments or utility bills.

Your price to pay: to continue to inhabit your home and to understand how it can best serve your needs, while being a good neighbour to the immediate community and those afar that also depend on water, energy and other resources that do not get more plentiful on their own.’

Background Austin is the fastest growing city in the U.S. with 110 people moving to Austin and 70 cars added daily to its roads. The population of Texas is projected to double over the next 50 years. This causes both stress on the urban residential market especially for affordable housing and on the municipal water supply. Due to the population growth 20

coupled with the multi-year drought the available water supply in Texas might decline by 10% by 2060 according to the Texas Water Development Board. As part of its Climate Protection Plan, Austin has set the following goals: (A) Make all new single-family homes zero net-energy capable by 2015; (B) Meet 35% of all energy needs through renewable resources by 2020, including 100MW of local solar power; (C) Reduce CO2 power plant emissions 20% below 2005 levels by 2020.

Concept NexusHaus The NexusHaus is intended to become a prototype for a next generation modular home that could be reproduced en masse in Austin to provide an urban infill strategy. The solar-powered and zero-water capable home designed for Central Texas addresses the challenge of sustainable urban development in the context of energy and water resource constraints. The key factors driving the concept of the house are the following: urban infill strategy via Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) development, affordable green building design, energy-water nexus, space extension and smart technology. As a unit of production it can easily extend the existing neighborhood’s infrastructure without increasing demand for energy and water. NexusHaus

offers homeowners the chance to directly participate in the energy economy, moving from energy consumers to becoming energy producers. The energy and water concepts in NexusHaus make the house more marketable for property owners to a growing group of ideologically motivated people, who want to have a low-impact lifestyle.

NexusHaus was recently voted “Best What’s Next in Austin Architecture” in this year’s The Austin Chronicle Best of Austin.

Figure 1. The modular concept of the NexusHaus allows a variety of configurations for different site conditions. (UT/TUM NexusHaus Team)

Modular design The zoning requirements for secondary lots in Austin limit the maximum dwelling footprint of 850 square feet. To provide this modest dwelling with a spacious feeling the design employs various spatial concepts. The building configuration consists of two 392 square foot rectangular structures. The day module with one open space contains living, dining and a kitchen and allows interaction with the outdoor area. The night module defines two private areas, a master bedroom and studio divided by a common bath. A thickened wall on the outer west and east facade of the two module serves as a buffer zone. The interior spaces can spill out onto shaded generous outdoor decks, three large nine foot wide folding glass doors open up to connect indoor and outdoor living. The two modules are separated by a central space that is intended to be enclosed in the winter time increasing the compactness, and capable of transforming itself into a ‘dog-trot-porch’ configuration seasonally. This breezeway is typical in traditional Texas architecture. The day and night modules can be placed in a number of different configurations depending on the site and the needs of the client. The key for the success of integration into the single-family residential properties, which often vary in terms to the lot size, shape, and 21

vegetation, is the flexibility that results from the modularity of the design. The team has identified over a hundred possible plan configurations.

Nexus: Water and Energy NexusHaus collects rainwater for potable water, uses grey water for irrigation and provides highly water efficient appliances and fixtures. The photovoltaic system is designed to maximize affordability. It is sized to meet the electrical needs of the house, rather than installing the largest system for the space available. The array is tilted 10 degree and provides 7kW. An Integrated Thermal Energy and Rainwater Storage (ITHERST) system shifts air conditioning load off-peak to early morning hours. Cooling and heating for the NexusHaus is provided by an air-source reversible heat pump with hydronic distribution to ductless fan coil units. ITHERST was developed by Charles Upshaw, PhD student at UT Austin and Team Co-Captain of the UT/TUM students’ team. NexusHaus is one of the first houses to demonstrate thermal storage technology on a residential rather than large commercial and industrial scale. The highly insulated cylindrical tank serves both as auxiliary rainwater collection and thermal storage volume to utilize an otherwise un-utilized thermal mass.

The competition Solar Decathlon is a biennial competition that challenges

collegiate teams to design, build, and operate a solar house that is affordable, energy-efficient, and innovative. Projects are judged in ten different areas of focus with points being awarded for each. The team with the most points after ten days of competition wins. The NexusHaus team took fourth place overall in the 2015 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition in Irvine, California. They won first place in Energy Balance; second in Affordability; 22

third in Engineering; fourth in Communications; and fifth in Market Appeal.

Learning from another UT participated before in the Solar Decathlon competition in 2002, 2005, and 2007, for TUM it was the first entry.

UT’s School of Architecture (UTSoA) developed a working research EnergyXChange Conference in Austin, Texas.

As an outgrowth of the conference, UTSoA and TUM began working together to develop a joint entry to the 2015 Solar Decathlon competition and the team was selected among more than 150 applicants. During the EnergyXChange conference in October 2013, faculty and students shared their expertise in lecturers, seminars and workshops. As the Solar Decathlon team was formulated as an interdisciplinary collaboration, working with the strengths of several programs within UT and TUM, faculty and students visited each other. In the fall of 2014, 12 UT undergraduate and graduate students spent one semester in Munich within a study abroad program to work with students from TUM. Several students from TUM visited Austin in spring 2015 to further develop the project. Faculty leads from UT and TUM, both the School of Architecture and Engineering were coordinating and supervising the team. The size of the team was growing and changing throughout the past two years as students joined in, and others graduated. Participation in the team was open to advanced undergraduate and graduate students and more than 75 students were involved from more than 7 disciplines.

The Solar Decathlon competition provides a unique experience for students to be able to evaluate the performance of design decisions. Hands-on learning

Figure 2. Water concept of NexusHaus with rainwater treatment system, grey water use for landscaping and thermal storage rainwater tank. (UT/TUM NexusHaus Team)

23

seeks to re-establish the continuity and inter-relationship between the processes of conceiving, making, and using buildings. In spring 2015 the team started with the construction of the NexusHaus at UT campus. The construction was completed in September, before it was disassembled and transported to Orange County Great Park in Irvine where it was re-assembled again. NexusHaus will be ending in McDonald’s Observatory in West Texas and serve as housing for researchers and scientists.

More information can be found on: http://www.nexushaus.com http://www.solardecathlon.gov http://www.energy-ex-change.com http://www.austinchronicle.com http://www.twdb.texas.gov http://austinenergy.com

Figure 4. Spacious shaded outdoor living. (Thomas Kelsey, U.S. Departement of Energy)

24

Figure 3. Living area in the day module with thickened wall (Thomas Kelsey, U.S. Departement of Energy)

Figure 5. NexusHaus at the competition in Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. (Thomas Kelsey, U.S. Departement of Energy)

25

Architectural Association Curriculum Reflection

The author is currently pursuing a masters course in Sustainable Environmental Design at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.

Written by: Ameer Mustafa Varzgani During my years of practice at an architectural practice known as Al-Imam Enterprises Pvt. Lahore, Pakistan, I came across variety of projects; urban regeneration, newly built, retrofitting and interiors. In all the projects, the word ‘environmental sustainability’ was merely being used and ignored. While designing a residential building, the client was emphasizing on renewable power generation, low energy consumption heating and cooling mechanism. Due to the lack of expertise in this areas, I prematurely handled the project but never developed a deeper concern regarding environmental sustainability.

After some research on the aforementioned topic, I started searching for programs that would engage me with real-life problems that could affect the built environment. The Sustainable Environmental Design Program at AA School of Architecture seemed like an appropriate program to start with.

This course is inclined to provide alternative solutions to current global architecture. In the 1st Term, we were introduced to the theoretical aspects of environmental design and building physics, where 26

we were given group projects to critically review the built environment of London. Each group had to analyze a set of buildings typology. Before getting our hands on instruments, we were acquaint with the study of meteorological data. This data illustrates the temperatures, solar radiations, sunshine hours, cloud coverage, humidity, wind velocity, prevailing wind direction and etc. which can be the key considerations for environmental and contextual design. As these conditions vary with respect to the urban fabric, emphasis was given to the study of urban microclimates. Along with outdoor measurements, empirical work also consists of indoor spotmeasurements of environmental parameters. The data collection was not only through measurements, but questionnaires and surveys were used to understand the occupancy pattern and their use of appliances.

This exposure to post-occupation evaluation and the results from it, added extra parameters that had to be taken in consideration while designing. The combination of fieldwork with analytical work provided me the means to test the theoretical prepositions which aided in our 2nd Term Project’s generative

process.

While getting the familiar with building science using traditional methods, we were also exposed to the various computational applications that haave been improved over the years. We were introduced to thermal, solar, daylight, fluid simulations using the following software: Autodesk Ecotect, Rhino-Diva, Radiance, EnergyPlus, EDSL TAS, Open Studio, EnviMet, WinAir, Rhino>Grasshopper>Ladybug-Honeybee and other related plugins. These software were not only taught by our tutors but their authors were also invited to give a deeper knowledge of how they work. Using the aforementioned applications, now it is possible to make architecture which is quantitatively and precisely judged and can be analyzed by calculated configurations of the building fabric and mechanical systems.

We are not only exposed to the theories and tools, but the lectures that have been given by the professionals also gave an idea of the current state of practice.

Meeting them personally and questioning their thoughts during the lectures makes this program a very appropriate platform to start with and develop upon.

Source for the images: Term 1Performance Oriented Studies (2014-2015) by Olga Tsakgkalidou, Tolga Uzuhasanoglu, Ameer Mustafa Varzgani and Daniel Zepeda

With all the background knowledge that I have gained from the program, my thesis will address the lighting issues specific to museums and gallery buildings. Being adaptive in nature, humans can even read a newspaper by moonlight which has an illumination level of merely 0.5lux, as well as, in a sunny day where the level can be more than 25000lux. A method has to be established, 27

where a human can correlate between the illumination and visual acuity. This method can be established by analyzing art galleries and museums, where light is the dominant feature of the building. Due to the presence of materials sensitive to light radiation, the building typology opens a range of challenges which are not normally encountered in general lighting practice. Large variation in light can cause problems when moving from one gallery to another, thus, my thesis may provide assistance by the identification of these issues and their consideration while designing and managing the building.

While wavelength, color temperature, and color rendering index are technical measures to describe the quality and color of light, a more subjective language is going to be introduced to further describe the different chromatic effects of light. Being open to sparing use of light for several reasons requires a broad understanding of the properties that it is dependent on, therefore, the analysis of fieldwork is undertaken to understand these properties and their role within the building. For architects like Palladio, the environmental function of architecture was embraced by the philosophical and the intellectual synthesis of the Renaissance. Nowadays, it has developed to such extents that it has become a specialized field. I, personally am fully satisfied with the program since it has enabled me to make conscious decisions while designing.

28

29

The Bucky Lab - Overview 2015 The Bucky lab is a mastercourse between Building Technology and Architecture master students at the TU Delft.

It’s a “get your hands dirty” approach in which the students learn how to translate concepts from sketch into working prototypes.

For more information, visit buckylab.blogspot.nl

This semester’s brief targets the improvement of the acoustic environment in a shared office space at the BK building of TU Delft.

Through synergy of architectural and product design, the aim is to conceptualize, develop and construct modules to achieve an acoustically comfortable environment. Focus is placed on experimentation of materiality and on production techniques.

The 1:1 prototype modules will be exhibited at the BK (Orange Hall) on the 1st of February, 2016 (10.00 – 16.00).

30

Soundscape - Erika Wolters, Dieke Luursema, Johanna Woerner ‘The soundscape is a personal acoustic system for an office environment. It is an origami inspired structure which can be folded to form a different shape. The soundscape is made of two layers of felt with acoustic foam in between and wood on top. The wood works as a sound reflecting surface, using the shape of the triangles to diffuse the sound in different directions.

The felt and foam form an absorbing surface directed inwards to the user. The structure can be shaped by pulling parts of the structure up and down so the structure folds and unfolds according to the user’s needs. For example around a group meeting or in between desks. In this way the user can interact with, and influence its acoustic environment in the office.’

31

Origami flower – Anil Sakaryali, Katerina Panteli, Maria Alexiou ‘The idea focuses on a well-known Japanese origami game. The difference between this game and the final design result is the fact that it enforces the movement only in one direction as half of the folding object (the thin layer of rockwool on the outside) are fixed and stuck through an adhesive layer.

It is adjustable to the user’s needs as it is transformed in several states/levels. The idea combines both absorption and diffusion relatively with different ways as not only the physical properties of the materials are taken into account, but also the geometry which is changeable according to the acoustic conditions.

Apart from the modules, there is another frame behind which is made from Plexiglas (diffusion) and rockwool (absorption).’

32

Acoustic Landscape - Anthony Kan, Kalwapreet Singh, Shinny Cheng ‘One of the reasons for the prevalence of Open Plan Office designs is the possibilities it offers for a highly interactive working environment. How can we promote the essence of such “academic” atmosphere yet retaining the necessary quiet environment for work? We began our investigation on perforation panels - a very artificial and easily experimented instrument to kick start the Bucky Lab project.

Multi-layered perforated panels have proven their capability in broadening absorption range, especially the notorious low-frequency noise, in recent studies.

What if we combine layers of varied sized holes (from sub-millimetre range to millimetre range) that bears individual absorption character, and create a landscape that expose different perforated panels according to spatial context and human activities?

Will geometry of the landscape play a role in sound absorption?’

33

SWAT Studio

Building Technology MSc3 Course

by Eleftherios Siamopoulos

The SWAT Studio is the final course before Graduation starts, and takes part in the first half of the MSc3.

It consists of three parts: Lectures on the latest developments from the market regarding the loacations the workshop takes place (‘Briefings’). An onsite design workshop, preparatory lectures and site analysis/ research, which aims in a sustanable urban intervention (‘Intervention’). An individual technical elaboration of a design element from the onsite workshop focusing on any two topics of the following: Facade, Structural and Climate Design(‘Elaboration’).

This year’s workshop took place in two locations. One in the AMS Institute (Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions), and the second in the Queen’s Univeristy Belfast. The aim of the workshop is to propose innovative, sustainable and contextually responsive urban interventions within diverse and challenging districts.

As the course description states: “It is a creative fusion of Climate, Facade and Structural design – A trilogy of specialisms that join forces in one studio and onsite workshop to produce technological responses of merit, informed by contextual urban narratives, challenges and potentials…”, but is it really so? Lets see some comments 34

from the student who took part: “Usually as a student I try to understand and see the bright side of every course I take. SWAT has been the exception, unluckily from the eight weeks that the course last only two the two research weeks in Belfast were exceptional although maybe too much. Exploring the city developing and new ideas to help change the city´s face and of course getting closer to or make new friends. Lets say the social aspect was great and that I give it hand.

Once we came back for project phase things changed. As I suppose for this over packed generation of BT students the things have been slightly improvised all the time, this time it went a bit overboard. I had the misfortune of landing with tutors that from my perspective were just filling the gap (façade and climate) in order to cover all students rather than being experts, of course willing to help but with a lack of expertise, compared to the knowledge and inputs we are used to from the proper and regular BT tutors. In conclusion good research phase, great social experience (Belfast) and terrible project phase.”

“Having almost a year of BT studies dealing with façade building components, climate mechanisms and huge loads of detailing, one can assume that SWAT is far from what

we would expect as the final step before graduation.

Having to design in urban scale was an unexpected and abrupt beginning, which soon turned out to be developed as an interesting research in fields I hadn’t previously been involved with. The intensity of the studio was challenging and stressful from times to times. Personally, I am pretty satisfied with the general intention of the studio and the outcome: a design strategy including different intervention scales. Planning and mentoring as groups and as individuals, are some issues that require better confrontation in future studios.”

“I felt that the two parts of the SWAT studio were not very well connected to each other. The fact that we had different tutors for each one definitely reinforced this feeling. As a Building Technology student I would like to be involved more in the elaboration design and detailing phase than in the urban planning. It is my opinion that neither I nor my classmates have adequate background to solve crucial problems in an urban scale. Master students in Urbanism would have probably done a much better job. Hence the lack of originality in the proposals for the Intervention part.”

Our working space was at the Architecture Faculty of Queen’s University. The studio was acceptable, however timing was not the best one. The classes had not yet started by the time we were there, therefore we could not have a real interaction with the people from the faculty. A couple of local students were assigned to each of the groups, but it was just optional for them to join us during the working hours, so some of the them just did not. Also I think, we should have had some lectures from the Belfast people about the city and other topics related to sustainability. In general, we had a great time in Belfast. The majority of us were staying in the same hostel, so almost every night we cooked and ate together.

And for sure, Irish pubs! We forgot about Heineken and went for Guinness!!! We could also enjoy the city and visit some attractions there. Personally, the best part of the trip was the friendship bonds created between us.”

“I am not entirely satisfied with the SWAT experience.

The workshop took place in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

35

A filament wound pillar for a pedestrian bridge Graduation project

by Pierre Mostert First Mentor: Ir. Joris Smit Second Mentor: Ir. Arie Bergsma

“A filament wound pillar for a pedestrian bridge� is the name of my graduation project that ended my two year master degree in building technology at the Delft University of Technology. My intension for this project was to deal with three aspects that gradually evolved to a rather specific type of pillar for a pedestrian bridge.

The first aspect is the lack of knowledge and hence limited use of structural composites in the building practice. Composites (fibre reinforced polymers) are complex materials that allow the combination of specific properties and freedom of form. The counter side of this complexity is that the material is often optimized structurally and chemically, whilst the aesthetics is given little importance. In my opinion, the diversity of production techniques, which differ from most traditional techniques, allow for interesting structures deriving their aesthetical value through expressing its manufacturing technique.

Especially with the advances in computer aided structural analysis the availability of complex optimized structures is drastically increasing within the field of architecture.

Architectural faculties around the world are currently investigating the possibilities of aesthetic FRP structures, with ICD Stuttgart being my personal favourite and an essential reference during my graduation project.

36

pierremostert.com/frppillar

Secondly, I have dealt with the aspect of the increased availability of production techniques through the development of user friendly and multiuse equipment and software that allow for the reinterpretation of existing production techniques. To give an example, a syntax can be made with Rhinoceros and Grasshopper for different types of 3D printers, robotic arms, milling machines and winding configurations. Furthermore, a robotic arm can be used to 3D print, mill, wirecut and wind. There are now multiple ways to create the same object. However, looking at it closely, each technique has some specific features which can be hidden or removed with post processing, but could also be used as a design aspect. To end the graduation project with a product I chose to start with an existing process and investigate the possibilities within architecture.

After the Buckylab studio in the first year of the master I realised how little we students knew about production techniques, materials and detailing and how much fun and valuable it is to actually build full scale and functional mockups. Not being able to substantiate the structural behaviour during earlier projects doing some real testing made it the third aspect I wanted to deal with.

This is a research on the possibilities of a structural element based on ‘coreless’ filament winding composite forming technique. The focus lies with the combination of a loadbearing capacity and an aesthetic value specifically derived from this production technique. This is done by the design of a pillar for a pedestrian bridge. The core of the research is done by physical and digital modelling and concluded with physical tests of two types of one to five scaled mock-ups. The first part focusses on the possibilities and aesthetic of the shape, the second part seeks to substantiate the structural probabilities. The result is a design of a pillar with a suggestion for the supports to the bridge deck and the ground. The design seems feasible but further research is needed before the capacities of the design can fully be substantiated and the product can be put in practice. This graduation project shows that an aesthetic value can be gained from the technique and the material whilst maintaining structural capacity.

Filament winding is a technique where a resin-impregnated bundle of continues fibres is wound onto a mould. Due to intersections in the winding path a structure is created.

It is currently used for low and high-tech products such as tubing for corrosive liquids and gasses, drive shafts, pressure vessels and rocket fuselages. After its invention in the 1940’s it has been developed to one of the most automated and cheapest composite manufacturing technique whilst being able to achieve the highest possible fibre volume fraction. The technique has some drawback, such as the rather rough outer surface, as the mould is on the inside, and the fact that making a re-entrant shape is not a possibility due to the tension on the fibres.

After I decided to use filament winding, an extensive literature study was made to become familiar with fibre reinforced polymers, a quite unknown material for most architecture students. During the reading a small winding configuration was made using MDF sheets and a threaded steel rod (Fig. 01). In this winding bench wooden mould elements were placed to compress a tube to create an open core mould in which acrylic fibres are tensioned.

This setup allowed the mimicking of the winding process to quickly investigate shapes and parameters. Moreover, the models were used to validate the Grasshopper script.

The biggest advantage of physical model making was that it was quicker than altering the Grasshopper script.

Fig. 01. A small winding configuration using MDF sheets and a threaded steel rod

Fig. 02. A variety of models based on the coreless filament winding technique

37

Small winding mistakes were made, which turned out to be essential in understanding the process. In an earlier stage of the process I developed a variety of models and principles based on the coreless filament winding technique (Fig. 02). During this phase the idea of a pillar was deliberately suppressed to keep the options of using it as a beam, roof elements, cut out sections, including climatological features or using it for scaffolding for another material open. Ultimately, the plausibility or each concept would be determined by the strength of the connection of the intersecting layers of winding bundles.

To substantiate the plausibility of wound composites in architecture this aspect was the crux of the research.

To simplify the assignment the decision of going for a hyperboloid grid was made. The rotational shape would reduce the complexity which enabled me to focus on the research of the essential aspects of a wound loadbearing structure. The shape is determined by just four parameters: the dimension of the moulds, the distance between the moulds, the amount of connection points and finally the shift in connection points the bundle makes when traveling between the two moulds.

proposals were made. The first proposal (type A) only had the bundle crossing between the two moulds. The second (type B) had interwoven circular reinforcements at each level of intersections forming an iso-grid. Due to the tension on the fibres when wound the polar bundles of both types are straight. Physical tests were needed to come to a decisive conclusion on the structural behaviour.

Through manual and Karamba calculations certain geometry parameters of the hyperboloid such as the amount of connectors and the bundle thickness were determined.

Buckling seemed to be the primary cause of failure. The two previously mentioned types were made in fivefold to reduce the influence of production flaws (Fig. 03). By measuring the weight before and after the winding process the mass of the composite was determined. The length of the three layers of fibres was then measured from the digital model and multiplied by the weight of the fibre bundle per length (2,4 g/m). Though these basic measurements the fibre volume fraction and the theoretical elastic modulus were calculated. Type A had 305 g of composite material and type B contained a 410 g average and had a similar

The structural behaviour of the pillar raised some questions, which could not be answered conclusively by various tutors. The first was the behaviour of the hyperbolic shaped grid when loaded in compression: Would it act as a statically indeterminate net of beams or as a hyperbolic surface comparable with a concrete cooling tower?

The second was the behaviour of a composite beam in compression, what would be the influence of the fibres?

The final question was to what extend the intersections were strong enough to increase the overall strength of the pillar.

Because of these uncertainties in behaviour two design 38

Fig. 03. Repeated models to reduce production flaws

Fig. 04. Rendering of the final bridge design

39

fibre volume fraction of 30 percent and height of 50 cm.

In comparison with commercial grade composites, which contain 50 to 70 percent this was extremely low. Higher fibre content inherently creates higher elastic moduli and yield strength.

The test bench measures the force required to move a certain distance. Type A could withstand a maximum of approximately 5000 N while type B went up to 10500 N before buckling (Fig. 05). This result of the 410 g column being able to bear a 1000 kg load, comparable to a small passenger car, was unexpected.

Fig. 05. Structural testing of the model

As mentioned earlier the project was to negotiate between aesthetics and loadbearing capacity. The first aesthetical feature to be discussed is the expression of its production technique. Looking closely at the intersections one can see that they are created by weaving layers of bundles (Fig. 06). A second aesthetic feature is the hyperboloid shape, which has a clear effect on the porosity of the skin (Fig. 07). It becomes gradually denser towards the waist and the circular horizontal section creates visually denser edges when perceived from a distance in elevation.

Finally, lights were added to create a playful shade in the dark (Fig. 08).

Fig. 06. The intersections are created by weaving layers of bundles

In the end the project showed the possibility of winding aesthetical structural composites. I would like to hope it will inspire students to shift from conventional materials and techniques to less common ones. I especially promote researching composite materials as it holds unexplored potential for architecture.

Further information on the project can be found on my website pierremostert.com/frppillar and the full graduation report can be found on the TUDelft repository.

Fig. 07. The distinct hyperboloid shape of the element

40

Fig. 08. The element creates playful shadows

Fig. 09.

41

DEployable- MOdular- LIghtweight Bridge Designing an emergency connection

by Elia A. Galiouna First Mentor: Ir. Joris Smits [Structural Design] Second Mentor: Dr.-Ing. Marcel Bilow [Product Development]

Every year, severe floods, typhoons, storms, hurricanes, landslides and other natural disasters but also explosions and terrorist attacks have been dramatically increasing in both number and intensity, causing havoc in communities and immense suffering for millions of people around the globe. Damages and casualty percentages have reached record levels every year during the last decade. The number of people affected by natural disasters is alarmingly high, estimated in the hundreds of millions.

Folding Truss I Folding Truss II Decking System Decking System Bearings Folding Truss I Folding Truss II Ramp

When disaster strikes, whether natural or man-made, urgent priorities, such as evacuation of habitants, care of injured, provision of food and water are vitally important but a lot of times can be severely hampered and infeasible, especially in cases that transportation networks are interrupted due to bridges collapse. This results to the inability of relief workers and supplies to reach stricken areas.

We know that we cannot underestimate the importance of emergency planning. If an earthquake or terrorist attack hits, we won’t necessarily have advance alerts or opportunities to double- and triple-check our plans and therefore we have to arm ourselves with the necessary equipment. Part of the plan is the design and construction 42

Decking System

Access Ramp

Folding Truss

Bearings

Fig. 01. 3D representation of DeMoLi9 Bridge’s System

1. Un- Loading 1h

2. Un- Folding 0.5h

truck length= 6530mm

truck length= 6530mm

5. Loading

5. L 4. Folding

0.5h

5.Placing

3. U 1. Dis- Placing

reuse fabrication storage

transportation erection

use

relocation

2.5h

Fig. 02. The storyline of the Construction Process

truck length= 6530mm

5h

Fig. 03. Installation Plan of DeMoLi9

5.Placing truc width= 2355mm

Final Position

43

UN-INSTALLATION PLAN

2.5h

2. Un-“Decking”

1h

4. “Decking”

4. F

3. Un- Locking

UN-INSTALLATION PLAN

un-install

0.5h

relocatio

relocation

3. Locking

4. “Decking”

3. Locking

use

un-install

use

truc width= 2355mm

use

EMERGENCY CALL assembly of the modules transportation installation

truc width= 2355mm

transportation erection

INSTALLATION PLAN

pre-constructed components

0.5h

use

EMERGENCY CALL assembly of the modules transportation installation

pre-constructed components

DEployable, MOdular, LIghtweight Bridge (DeMoLi) is a Warren Pony Truss Bridge,which consists of identical prefabricated aluminum elements relying on term of modularity, creating a lightweight structure. The modular 1. Un-to Loading segments also facilitate adaptation of the bridge different spans ranging from 5m to 20m length and load 1hof capacity up to 40tons. Specifically, its form consists two parallel trusses, which are its main longeron beams 2. Un- Folding and according to Pony truss concept the deck is located at its bottom chord (Fig. 01). The proposal design of

fabrication storage

INSTALLATION PLAN

of emergency bridges able to reconnect communities by providing an uninterrupted access to the effected area and reestablishing them.

un-install

EMERGENCY CALL assembly of the mod transportation installation

pre-constructed components

Extreme events, including natural and man-made disasters such as typhoons, floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and terrorist attacks have become the largest destructions around the world over the years.

Due to the above disasters, bridges are damaged resulting in the isolation of residential communities and the inability of delivery emergency relief supplies. In order to provide help to disaster areas fast, an easy-transported, rapid-installed, adaptable to different configurations and cost-efficient temporary bridge becomes critical for transportation of people, food and medical supplies. This graduation thesis r e u s e seeks to the design of a DEployable, MOdular, LIghtweight (DeMoLi) Bridge as a single-lane “emergency connection”. The instant connection could be used all over the world reconnecting communities and fabrication transporuse supporting disaster relief. storage tation reuse erection

2. U

1. D

Testing

The Six Steps of Product Development Management and its relation to the graduation process

DEPLOYABLE- FOLDABLE TECHNOLOGY, as an innovative method for civilian bridges based on hinged connections, which facilitates transportation and simultaneously provides fast and simple erection. Through the different deployable technologies, the folding system is the selected one (Fig. 04,05). All the structural members of the trusses are fitted with parallel cylindrical hinges at their both ends, allowing them to fold within a plane perpendicular to their surfaces. The horizontal elements from both upper and lower chord are moving upwards in order to fold, dragging the diagonal webs, which are connected to the same hinges (Fig. 06).

diagonals

horizontals

A

horizontals

the truss starts with a basic building block, which is an equilateral triangle. The construction process and the final assembly realize off-site (in the factory) and the completed bridge is tranasported on-site in compact form thanks to its deployable capability. Then, it is installed in a limited time and without any special equipment for short term, servicing the emergency needs. After the bridge mission is completed, the bridge can be packed and reused in another emergency call (Fig. 02-03).

The main distinguished features offered by DeMoLi system as an emergency bridge are:

Horizontal Elements: from 0o to 180o

B horizontals

C

D

B

A

B

A

44

A

B

90o

60o

D

C

horizontals

D

C

D

C

D

C

C

Diagonal Elements: from 0o to 60o

pushing- retraction axial force pulling- deployment

Fig. 04. Folding and Deployment processes of truss structure Folding and Deployment processes of truss structure

The structural elements, both horizontals and diagonals, in the initial and final deployed configuration are displayed in solid colours, while the semi-transparent picture represent the motion of the members during deployment and all the intermediate displacements.

Compacted Configuration A. Horizontal: 0o B. Diagonals: 0o

A. Horizontal: 30o B. Diagonals: 10o

A. Horizontal: 90o B. Diagonals: 30o

A. Horizontal: 120o B. Diagonals: 40o

The bridge system utilizes MODULAR APPROACH to satisfy a broad range of span requirements as the need arises.

Modularity is also applied to make the transportation, maintenance, replacement and adaptability easier.

The bridge is completely made of aluminum alloys in optimized shapes, as a cost-efficient, LIGHTWEIGHT and stiff material, which allow custom elements, creating an ultra-light and cost-efficient solution. Readily available, 6063 and 6082 alloys are used for many of the bridge extruded components, while 43300 alloy is proposed for the casted hinges.

B

diagonals

A. Horizontal: 150o B. Diagonals: 50o

Deployed Configuration A. Horizontal: 180o B. Diagonals: 60o

Applied Force

Fig. 05. Deployment Process of DeMoLi12 truss

horizontal II

no1no3 no5no7 no9

horizontal I no2 no4

no6no8 no10 no12

horizontal I

horizontal II

no11

diagonal I

diagonal II

horizontal II

no1no3 no5no7 no9

horizontal I no2 no4

no6no8 no10 no12

horizontal I

horizontal II

no11

3mm above the upper side

diagonal II horizontal I

horizontal II

diagonal I

3mm above the upper side

diagonal II diagonal I horizontal I

horizontal diagonal II II

diagonal I

diagonal I

horizontal II no2 no4

no1 no3 no6

no5

no8

diagonal II

horizontal I

horizontal II

horizontal I

horizontal II

no7

horizontal I horizontal II no2 no4

no1 no3 no6

no8

no5

no7 collinear with bottom side

horizontal I

Fig. 06. Hinged Connection I :Four Elements / Hinged Connection II: Two Elements

collinear with bottom side

45

Compared with existing systems, DeMoLi is lighter (10% lighter), more compact and due to its pre-assembled nature its set-up time is estimated less than alternative providing an integrated solution able to cover a broad spectrum of bridge applications (Fig. 03).

out their strong features but also their weak ones, which had to be improved in a new emergency bridge solution.

The whole research had been configured as an invention on a novel, emergency, temporary bridge following an engineered design process, as a methodical series of steps that engineers use in creating functional products. It is a decision making highly iterative process, in which the basic and engineering sciences are applied to convert resources optimally to meet a stated objective. Thus, the layout of the whole project was based on six phases.

Phase 2, Concept Development, was based on research.

Its activities included the selection and deeply analysis of the working principles- design strategies- of the product and the architectural approaches that best met the project’s requirements based on a design through research approach. These decisions were afterwards transformed into technical solutions. In DeMoLi bridge concept, the applied strategies were: Deployability, Modularity and Lightness. For designation of Lightness, material selection was carried out through CES EduPack software and finally, the selected materials were analyzed.

The initiation Phase of Planning and Problem Definition was the beginning of the project. In this Phase, the basic idea was explored and elaborated. In addition, the project missions statements (problem statements), the research objectives and questions, as well as key assumptions and constraints (requirements) were clarified. Finally, six existing emergency bridges, as reference projects, were analyzed, describing their general concepts and pointing

The Concept Design Phase (Phase 3) included the development of the conceptual product. It involved the intellectual process of developing a research idea into a realistic and appropriate research design. In proposal solution, this included consideration of several factors, such as the selection of bridge and deployable system throughout analysis and comparison of existing systems, as well as the description of the selected ones and their

?

Pakistan Floods Floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, when heavy rains stroked the entire country covering one-fifth of its total land area. According to Pakistani government data, the floods directly affected about 20 million people, mostly by destruction of property, livelihood and infrastructure, with a death toll of close to 2,000.

Many bridges were also collapsed. The image illustrates a washed-out bridge, damaged during a flood on Aug. 5, 2010.

?

Pakistan Floods Floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, when heavy rains stroked the entire country covering one-fifth of its total land area. According to Pakistani government data, the floods directly affected about 20 million people, mostly by destruction of property, livelihood and infrastructure, with a death toll of close to 2,000.

Many bridges were also collapsed. The image illustrates a washed-out bridge, damaged during a flood on Aug. 5, 2010.

Fig. 07. Pakistan Floods

46

Visualization of DeMoLi12 in Pakistan

Fig. 08. Visualization of DeMoLi12 in Pakistan

application. Consequently, the focus of this phase was two-fold: Firstly, it evaluated the feasibility assessments of the alternatives and secondly, it clearly defined and approved the scope of the project, synthesizing a preliminary design, which included explanation of the system and all the required activities.

Design Verification (Phase 4) was the product development and refinement phase, which included extensive testing, validation and optimization based on several parameters like requirements vs cost. Normally it involves assembling The final Mock-up, scale 1:2 and testing prototypes through different scale mockups and afterwards the implementation of any required changes to the designs. However, in DeMoLi Bridge, Finite Elements Analysis (FEA) was used to refine the geometry and define the materials of the bridge and its individual components through satisfactory numerical calculations that accurately simulate mechanical behaviors such as The final Mock-up, scale 1:2 deflections and stresses. Starting with the definition of different load cases, proportions and materiality of the truss and the deck panels were finalized and verified. After these, the structural behavior of the final version of the bridge was presented through Diana software.

Detailed Design or Developed Design (Phase 5) was the process of taking on and developing the approved concept design, establishing the design requirements and transforming them into a final cross-disciplinary design.

It provided the links for integrating all the conceptual and preliminary data into a complete, finished digital product.

This phase served the basis for the Implementation. By the end of Detailed Design process, the proposal solution was dimensionally correct and coordinated, providing a detailed specification for each component and thoroughly description of their interfaces and their functions.

Finally, the Implementation Phase (Phase 6) referred to the final process of moving the solution from development status to production one. During this final phase, the project took its final, realistic shape. For the purposes of project, implementation was related to a series of steps from fabrication, assembly and transportation until the final installation and the possibility of relocation. Finally, this phase involved the visualization of the project results through a series of mock-ups (Fig. 09,10,11) in different scales from 1:20 to 1:2.

Hinged Connection I made of PLA proceed with FDM printers, scale 1:2

Fig. 09. Hinged Connection I made of PLA proceed with FDM printers, scale 1:2 Hinged Connection I made of PLA proceed with FDM printers, scale 1:2

Fig. 10. Hinged Connection made PLA proceed with printers, FDM printers, Hinged Connection II madeII of PLAofproceed with FDM scalescale 1:2 1:2

Fig. 11. The final Mock-up, scale 1:2 The final Mock-up, scale 1:2

47

Thinking Skins Workshop June 15 - 17

by Alkistis Krousti

T

he past June, from the 15nth to the 17nth, took place the annual workshop, EFN mobile-“Thinking skins”, this year hosted by TU Delft. “Thinking skins” is an international façade workshop, which forms part of the Future Envelope 9 Conference on Building Envelopes, this year with the theme “Unobtainium”.

U

nobtainium, what we aim for but consider ungraspable in the current conditions. As far as façade technologies are concerned, this basically refers to the concept of adaptability of building envelopes, a notion that both architects and engineers have been trying to put a finger on for decades. Although fascinating as a concept, are responsive facades a feasible vision for the near future, and if so, which are the parameters to be addressed?

T

his was the main issue that both the workshop and the conference aimed to tackle during four very interesting daily sessions, three of workshop and one of lectures and discussion. Students from the TU Delft (NL) , the IFDC in Detmold (D), and from Lund university (Sweden), eight in total, are participating in the three-day workshop that was also supported by Alcoa. The workshop was organised

by Jens Böke.

T

he goal set for those three days was to investigate ways of improving the performance of building skins

48

by continuous intelligent adaptations, in accordance to requirements. To make things even more interesting, the focus was mainly on prototyping and experimental building, meaning that there were twelve showcase mock-ups to demonstrate by the end of the workshop. In order to face the complexity of the subject under such a short timeframe, the façade requirements were isolated, to be dealt with separately, one by one.

T

he workshop started with all participants getting appointed a specific function of the building envelope.

One would work on solar energy control, another on lighting, another on thermal comfort. Then followed the brainstorming on each of those aspects separately, trying to think of new ways in which façade systems can become more user or climate responsive. When all ideas were discussed through, everyone got to work! Simplified versions of all twelve systems were to be built, in a rectangular box configuration, for exhibition purposes.

Materials used were MDF wood, acrylic sheets, fabrics, cardboard, and some more unexpected improvisations, including plastic bags and tubes. Working models were created by using the EFNmobile toolbox and also digital fabrication devices like a laser cutting machine. After just two days of hard work, hindrance by small setbacks, all eight mock-ups were ready for presentation and comments. The results were presented in front of the EFN

Day 1: Brainstorming

committee and also exhibited at the conference: Future Envelope 2015 – Unobtainium, on the 18nth f June.

Day 2: Hands-on

T

hree days, eight students, eight functions, eight prototypes, all developed out of new ideas, and lots of experimentation. In the end, results were quite impressive, especially given the timeframe and hopefully some will be food for thought and further investigation in the years to come. Also quite an interesting and fulfilling experience through and through for those of us who participated, and watched innovative ideas built up into feasible, or sometimes not so feasible, prototypes, and formed a strong team spirit over bbq and beer. Looking forward to the results of this year’s workshop at http://thinkingskins.net/.

*

all photographs are kindly provided by Jens Böke)

Day 3: Finalization

49

50