The Physiological Envelope
Awarded the Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf Adaptive Technologies Prize
Analogous to the human thermoregulation system, “the Physiological Envelope” investigates the potentials of developing a responsive architectural envelope system that regulates indoor temperature. The involuntary responses including vaso-regulation, shivering and sweating are integrated into the design. The envelope responds to weather changes involuntarily by adopting and experimenting with materials’ sensitive properties that react to temperature changes spontaneously rather than using electrical instruments and machines.
The BODILY Machine
The concept steamed from exploring the potential of extracting technologies of human bodies for architectural applications, including environmental and structural performance. Digital simulations and physical models were built to investigate the harmony of the soft and hard elements that make up our body.
The TEMPERATURE REGULATING Machine
The physical model was fabricated to visualize the materiality of the consolidated physiological envelope. It also demonstrates the spatial perception and inhabitation created by this envelope with a bodily expression. Integrating the human organs into the model as metaphors, the intention of translating biological intelligence into architectural strategies is illustrated.
Conceptual Application
The building adopts the developed physiological envelope, with embodied movements to provide a multi-sensory experience for the users.
