Architectural Design 8: Intelligent Skin

Book: Harris, Jude, and Wigginton, Michael. 2000. Intelligent Skin. Oxford: Architectural Press.

“the permeability of the skin of a building towards light, heat, and air, and its transparency must be controllable and capable of modification, so that it can react to changing local climatic conditions.”

21st Century

need for sustainable technologies in buildings
building energy use considerations
global impact: energy use & the greenhouse effect

Ecological goal: by utilising the building fabric itself (the ‘skin’), artificial heating, cooling, lighting, and other energy importing systems can be minimised, or avoided.

Need for Intelligent Buildings

comfort
energy demand
protect occupants from the extremes of climate

External environment (climatic conditions: day/night, seasons, geographical locations) affects the interior of buildings.

A combination of automatic control and pseudo-instinctive responses to these varying conditions may serve to improve occupancy conditions and operational efficiency in energy terms.

Buildings which ‘know’: cognitive science
Brian Atkin’s book - Intelligent Buildings

buildings should ‘know’ what is happening inside and immediately outside
buildings should ‘decide’ that most efficient way of providing a convenient, comfortable, and productive environment for the occupants
buildings should ‘respond’ quickly to occupants requests

The intelligent skin: the deepening metaphor

intelligent building fabric becomes a flexible, adaptive and dynamic membrane...
information assists in response and control of the different sensors, and fabric configuration. The outcome produced is...: in response to modified behaviour, to produce predictable actions
the threshold between inside and outside, providing security and privacy, access and views and modulating the flows of energy in the form of light, heat, sound, and air

Maintenance

Increased maintenance and cost of the building means that it is better cared for, which can allow for much improved maintenance and hence, a longer life. As building intelligence evolves, they can be serviced frequently (just like cars).

Conclusions from the book's case studies

Intelligence building facades perform up to 10 different function (below). These facades influence the travel of energy between the external environment and the internal environment.

The enhancement of daylight (light shelves/reflectors)

The maximisation of daylight (full-height glazing/atria)

Protection from the sun (louvers/blinds)

Insulation (night-time shutters)

Ventilation (automatic dampers)

The collection of heat (solar collectors)

The rejection of heat (overhangs/brise solei)

The attenuation of sound (acoustic dampers)

The generation of electricity (photovoltaics)

The exploitation of pressure differentials (ventilation chimneys)

Examples of buildings with 'intelligent skin'...
GSW Headquarters - Sauerbruch Hutton Architects, Berlin Germany

Maximum daylight

generously sized windows create optimum daylight coniditions on the office floor
the floor plan is narrow - allowing the workplaces to be daylit during most of the year

Solar protection

interior is protected from solar radiation by flexible blinds between the glass layers of the two facades
the blinds are controlled by the occupants
to avoid overheating in the morning or afternoon, a centrel building management system also controls them