performative 3d printed building skins: towards an ... · nsf workshop on additive manufacturing...

Performative 3D Printed Building Skins: Towards an Adaptable Built Environment

Zofia Rybkowski, [email protected]

Negar Kalantar, [email protected]

Texas A&M UniversityCollege of Architecture

NSF Workshop on Additive Manufacturing for Civil Infrastructure Design and Construction

Arlington, VAJuly 13, 2017

Acknowledgements:

NSF-EAGER Grant #1548243

Research team:

Zofia Rybkowski, PhD (PI)

Negar Kalantar, PhD (co-PI)

Ergun Akleman, PhD (co-PI)

Tahir Cagin, PhD (co-PI)

Terry Creasy, PhD (co-PI)

Teaching collaborators:

Alireza Borhani, MArch

Dylan Shell, PhD

+ 66 student collaborators

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A B C D

Diameter: 22 Ft (open position) and 3.3 Ft (closed position) Based on Hoberman's Geodesic Dome

tranSTUDIO, Adaptive Design, Thought & FabricationTexas A&M University, College of ArchitectureResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Borhani

Negar Kalantar Introduction

Expandable Spherical Cup IIDimension: 10 Ft side (open position) and 2 Ft (closed position)Material: Wood + Aluminum

Expandable Spherical Cup IDimension: 9 Ft side (open position) and 1 Ft (closed position)Material: Wood + Aluminum

http://vimeo.com/negarkalantar/spherical-domes



Negar Kalantar Introduction

tranSTUDIO & transLABResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Clark, Kato, Hawkins, Miller& Nnaji

First Skin Second Skin Third Skin

tranSTUDIO, Adaptive Design, Thought & FabricationTexas A&M University, College of Architecture

Mediator between Inside & Outside

Reaction to Environmental Changes

Responsive to the Occupant Needs


Could our third skin be adaptive similar to our first skin?


NOT REALLY!


The Difference between Natural & Man-made Constructions

Nature Man-made

Material is expensive BUT complexity is free Complexity is expensive while material is not

Less material + More complex forms More material + Less complex forms

Images sources: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/natural-structures/

Bio-Inspired Approaches

Additive ManufacturingTechniques

Smart Materials

A New Way to Design an

Adaptive Building Skin

New ComputationalDesign Methods


• Reducing the number of susceptible mechanical parts such as hinges

• Local customization of geometry to change the properties of material

• All-in-one multifunctional component

Benefits of Additive Manufacturing in Adaptive Design:


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Borhani, Kalantar & Ruby

Deformation Strategies

DisplacementsStrategies

3D Printing in Adaptive Design

Material-based Approach(A synergetic relation between the material thresholds

and performance)

Geometrically-informed Approach(Performative properties are linked to the geometry of

mechanisms)

tranSTUDIOROTA: An Airless Tire; Research Collaborators: Kalantar & Borhani

tranSTUDIOSolar Aperture; Research Collaborators: Kalantar & Borhani


Performative 3D printing Strategies

Passive Strategies

Active Strategies


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborator: Borhani, Kalantar, Houser, Hergert, , Casto, Kim, Dempsey, Gregory, Morahan, Wilson , Clark & Kolodziej


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Borhani, Ritter & Gilbert


The breathable wall system aims to satisfy the following criteria:

Get fresh air into the building & exhaust air out; Block sand from penetrating into the building; Cool down the air as it travels through the shaded zones; and Prevent light from directly entering the space.

tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Borhani, Schaper, Williams, Newchurch, Doggett, Fuentes, Roose, Bradely & Mengers


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Borhani & Callen



Distinct Joints(For linking multiple rigid elements)

Embedded Living Joints(For linking multiple rigid elements)

Using 2 different materials

Using a single material

Local zones of flexibility to adjust stiffness

With Joints(Rigid-link Mechanisms)

Without Joints(Flexures Mechanisms)

Passive Strategies

Active Strategies








Passive Strategies

Active Strategies




tranSTUDIO & transLABResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Clark & Kato


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Borhani & Kalantar


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Roose & Thompson


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Wells, Henry, Yamaya, Al-Sholi & Bucklley








Passive Strategies

Active Strategies




tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Ritter & Higgins


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Akleman, Zarrinmehr, Kalantar, Borhani, Ettehad & Sueda










Passive Strategies

Active Strategies


tranSTUDIOResearch Collaborators: Kalantar, Borhani & The Dream LAB at Virginia Tech

Project Management Process

Weekly Meetings

Minutes: Thorough Documentation of Each Meeting and Lab Session

Shared Website

https://transtudio2017.wordpress.com/






Presentation to Industry for Feedback

Plus-Delta Debriefings

+ Δ Xxxx XXX Xxxxxxxx Xxx xxxxxx Xxxx

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OAEC*

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C U L T U R E o f R E S P E C T

Continuous Improvement

• IDEO idea generation method used

• Teams met at the same time each week

• Teams crossed into different departmental labs as well as studios

• Thorough documentation of each meeting

• Information shared on common websites

• Presentations to & feedback from members of industry

• End-of-semester debriefings (plus-delta)

• Continuous improvement “kaizen stairway”

Project Management Process

Zofia Rybkowski, [email protected]

Negar Kalantar, [email protected]

performative 3d printed building skins: towards an ... · nsf workshop on additive manufacturing...

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