Capitalizing on smart thermobimetal’s natural tendency to curl as the temperature rises, DORIS SUNG’s refreshing aesthetic skillfully disguises its true purpose: to use no energy to save energy in buildings. With goals to self-shade, self-ventilate, self-assemble or self-propel, Sung’s projects defy standard categorization. With a keen understanding of computation, biology, geometry and physics, she boldly advocates environmentally responsive ornamentation, en masse and multitudinously.
Doris Sung’s work promotes a new aesthetic for architecture by marrying technology with art in such a way that one is indiscernible from the other. Even though the use of smart materials such as thermobimetal, an age-old material that curls when heated, is new to architecture, the real impact will change how we design buildings as well as how we perceive architecture. By ‘programming’ individual pieces to behave in specific ways at various temperatures to self-shade, self-ventilate, self-structure, self-assemble or self-propel, tessellated facades will look and perform more like scales on a fish or leaves on trees. They will be designed to operate automatically with a mind of its own—with or without humans—using no energy and no computer controls. And, amidst all this change, static walls will become a part of history and buildings will better integrate into the ever-changing ecosystem by breathing, fluttering and responding to the environment, tirelessly, endlessly and artfully.
Tags: dosu-arch, tbm-designs, smart materials, responsive facades, self-shading, thermobimetal, self-shading windows, responsive facades, dynamic buildings.