Our concept was to apply Danfoss’ PolyPower DEAP at an architectural scale through taking advantage of its material specific properties in order to create a new type of building “skin.”

Through our experimentation we‘ve developed the foundation research for a DEAP adaptive facade system. We explored the distinctive DEAP material properties not only as a mechanical actuator replacement but also in order to highlight its specific aesthetic qualities. DEAP is a highly attractive material for kinetic architectural applications due to its extreme flexibility, lightness, thin dimensions and smooth actuation. Our project takes advantage of these qualities in order to create an unique spatio-visual experience not only for the building inhabitants but also at an urban scale as the many DEAP components which comprise the building skin twist and shimmer while they respond to internal and external lighting conditions.

We see this as an important shift for architectural facades, moving away from machine-like tectonics towards a soft dynamic systems which share more with the elegant integration of form and function found in “natural” skins than with the rigid mechanical aesthetics of their architectural predecessors.