What skin does for us (or anything)

Skins protect what is inside.  Our skin is even considered an organ, moving, healing, extracting absorbing.  Cars have shiny metal (or plastic) skins that protect their insides.  Lamps have skins that protect our eyes from the direct light and protect kids from touching hot light bulbs.  Even fruits and vegetables have skin that protects them. Trees, waterbottles, eggs, batteries, earth, turtles, cells all have skin that protect, react and perform.  A building should do the same.

 

Pith cells of the cavity membrane in Phyllostachys viridiglaucescens act in a way that allows penetration of only accepted material.  The wavy, irregular structure is useful for hiding the seams within the cavity.  Similarly, the skin of a building can do the same... allowing only accepted materials within the skin.  Air, light, water, sound?

Here, a magnetic curtain is developed and used indoors to do just this... with light.

Bamboo growth / city growth

Bamboo can grow up to 100 ft tall because of its chambers created by regularly spaced nodes.  Similarly, phasing of a city at sea can be constructed; over time, the city can grow to a larger scale, because of its regularly spaced blocks.  Its roots (or city service supply) can expand in a clumping or running fashion.

Cells

Bamboo cells.

Cellular makeup

Here are more natural forms for bamboo and how its form and function can be applied to architecture.

Anatomy of Bamboo

According to The Anatomy of Bamboo Culms, the success of bamboo is in its cellular makeup.  The organization of its fibers are to credit for its success.  Here, the form of its genetics is transferred to the surface of the buildings and applied to its structural systems and process of its construction.  

Conceptual Sketches

Its hard to get started, but these images might get the ball moving.

Conceptualizing

A huge step in starting out with a concept is using drawings!  A felt tip, "bleeding" pen, and tons of trace paper.  A notebook is handy for portable use.  There doesn't need to be a system to the drawings, just get them on paper and refer to them often.  Designs don't fall (or elevate) out of space!

How the *%&^$ a building going to DO something?

According to reading, "biomimics", we should consider systems in nature and apply them to buildings.  Environmental mediation.

The idea is not just building something that LOOKS like something in nature, but ACTS like something in nature.

Readings from ARC402

Here you can find the powerpoints on three readings regarding the economics of building a large space project, strong metal, and oceanic energy.

Cool Graphic Renderings

This is good imagery of a made up life.  The artists imagines a world where dry land is scarce.  These images are the outcome of his imagination.