BLOOM_00

BLOOM 1.0
dO|Su Studio Architecture

Doris Sung

In collaboration with:
Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter and Matthew Melnyk.

Digital consulting: Dylan Wood, Julia Michalsk, and Derek Greene.

BLOOM Surface Video

Construction Time Lapse

A sun-tracking instrument indexing time and temperature, with a shape alluding to a woman’s Victorian-era under garment, "Bloom" stitches together material experimentation, structural innovation, and computational form and pattern-making into an environmentally responsive form. Made primarily out of a smart thermobimetal, a sheet metal that curls when heated, the form’s responsive surface shades and ventilates specific areas of the shell as the sun heats up its surface. With the aid of complex digital softwares, the surface, made up of approximately 14,000 lasercut pieces, is designed for peak performance on spring equinox, March 20, 2012.

Composed of 414 hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped stacked panels, the self-supporting structure challenges the capability of the materials to perform as a shell. The panels combine a double-ruled surface of bimetal tiles with an interlocking, folded aluminum frame system. Like the undulation of the surface, the frame, by nature of its folds, is designed to appear on the inner or outer surface at the same cadence of the peaks and valleys. The final monocoque form, lightweight and flexible, is dependent on the overall geometry and combination of materials to provide comprehensive stability. In some areas of "Bloom", the hypar panels are made stiffer by increasing the number of riveted connections, while, in other areas, the panels are deeper to increase structural capability. The severely twisted panel shapes aid in the performance of the surface and challenge the digital and fabrication capabilities of parametric design. Within a single panel, portions of the surface directly face the sun, while the other side is in the shade and requires no reaction or curling. The result is dramatic variation in tile shapes and function within each panel.


dO|Su Studio Architecture

Location: Materials + Applications Gallery
Image credit: Dylan Wood