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Hygrosensitive Shape-Shifting Facade

UniversityUniversity of Virginia, School of Architecture

Lead DesignersMingyue Nan, Zhenfang Chen, Liwei Liu

Design TeamMingyue Nan, Zhenfang Chen, Liwei Liu

Project LocationCharlottesville, Virginia

Prize(s)Silver in Other Architectural Designs / Other Architectural designs

Project LinkView

Entry Description

This research project presents a meteorosensitive kinetic façade system that passively responds to environmental Relative Humidity (RH) fluctuation by employing wood's natural hygroscopic behavior.
We aim to develop a façade prototype that is sustainable and can enhance the architectural experiences.
It unpacks on sunny days to provide shading and packs in rain days to bring in sunlight. Digital simulations were conducted to predict the curvature conditions and global performance. Grain orientation and moisture content are set as two major parameters to control the width between two rows.