The projects and prototypes presented here not only showcase the inventiveness of the Bucky Lab students, but also lead to applications that can be used in actual buildings in cooperation with industry.
In case you don't know or have forgotten what the Bucky Lab is:
Here is a little introduction to the TU Delft's Master's degree course
The IOR shading system is based on one of the fundamental properties of materials: the refractive index. And while utilising such properties, Remco Wiggers, Freek van Zeist and Luuk Graamans wanted to develop a system that provides adjustable transparency.
Bucky Lab / TU Delft
The basis for IOR is the laws of optics and refractive index: As soon as a solid is immersed in a liquid with the same refractive index, it becomes invisible. The team found a suitable combination of materials in which transparent spheres are placed in the space between the glass panes of an insulating glass unit.
These spheres allow light to pass through, but their shape gives diffuse visual protection. If the IGU is filled with the transparent liquid, the identical refractive indexes mean that the spheres become transparent and allow an almost unobstructed view outside. Further tests and calculations will show how the principle can be used in practice for larger facade surfaces.
