The project aims to visualise conventionally invisible parameters of our environment on surfaces. Each panel has a unique geometry that leads to the emergence of distinct patterns once the surface temperature changes. This is made possible by informing the panels’ design through digital simulations and fabrication. The thermochromic coating incrementally reveals colourful layers beneath when exposed to temperatures above 27°C. This is the threshold value above which humans generally experience discomfort. Consequently, the project creates a communication interface between the built and the natural environment through material intelligence and design.
Thermochromic materials change colour when the material’s temperature exceeds a certain threshold. The effect can be a change in hue, saturation or transparency. The project focused on a change of transparency, where the disappearance of a coating layer reveals the underlying material above a temperature threshold of 27C – the same temperature above which a room’s temperature is widely perceived as uncomfortable. Computational fluid dynamics simulations (CFD) were used to simulate changes in temperature and airflow along surfaces.
There is a demand for innovative design solutions for communicating environmental conditions and parameters of indoor climate to inhabitants through smart materials and passive strategies. Existing research into thermochromic elements in architecture is often focussing on the technological aspects of surface actuation.
This project investigated the design consequences deriving from a generative design process, that uses invisible environmental parameters to drive performative reliefs.
