HYDRO FLOWER MEADOW
Technische Universität Berlin | CHORA Conscious City
Urban Material Intelligence XS-XL - Winter semester 2016-2017
Assistant Professor Liss C. Werner
Jingwei Tan | Yunke Zheng | Zhaoxi Zhang
Cyberphysical systems and intelligent building components for urban resilience
A kinetic structure utilizing the tenacity property of materials is proposed for temporary shelter and water collection. This strategy allows to transfer the deformation process of material into space forming mechanism and harvest the internal stress as the recovering force for the kinetic structure. The proposed structure can set up in groups of various quantities in the city range.
More information: https://tactile-architecture.com/hydro-flower-meadow/
Structure
Polymerization
After design of the prototype, we consider the possibility of adding sensors to the structure in order to control the deformation process in respond to various triggering factors. Consequently, the structure can better adapt to different urban scenarios and serve the city better in a broader spectrum.
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For instance, a gravity sensor can be attached to the structure to monitor the quantity of rainwater during a certain time period. When the quantity of rain water increase to a certain threshold, the gravity sensor will generate a signal which then triggers the opening of the structure. The information of precipitation situation will also be recorded by the sensor.
With different combination, for example, the linear arrangement of the structure could be integrated into city lamp design along streets and rivers, while the circular arrangement could enclose and shelter a larger area to create resting space in the city. In addition to the water collection, we imagine that the structure could also be used as a flexible landscape installations arranged on roadside, grassland, river bank and even on the water, forming a flexible shoreline.
