The projects and prototypes presented here not only show the inventiveness of the Bucky Lab students, but also lead to applications that can be used in actual buildings in cooperation with industry.
The project Shaping Wind by students Josien Kruizinga and Bao Ngoc Le represents an external sun protection based on the principle of transparency through rotation. The human eye is not able to capture a fast moving object (from 24 frames per second we see a fluid, moving image). Everyone is familiar with this phenomenon from a rotating fan or propeller: When it is switched on, the rotating blades are invisible to the human eye.
Modular to any size
Through tests in the light laboratory, the students were able to prove that the amount of light passing through a perforated rotating disc is independent of its rotation or standstill. This means that the effect of transparency can only be perceived by the human eye, but the shading effect caused by rotating elements remains.
The concept of Shaping Wind calls for a finely articulated laser-cut steel lattice made of 1 mm thick stainless steel sheets that can be assembled in a modular fashion to any size. Axles are mounted in the nodes, which in turn hold small wings that begin to rotate on the facade due to the wind movement.
M. Bilow / TU Delft
The shape of the wings has been optimised to provide the greatest possible shade and be easily turned by the wind. For the prototype, the blades were printed using a 3D printer and later produced by moulding from casting resin. In practice, they can be produced as injection moulded parts or extrusion profiles.
The prefabricated elements can be mounted on the supporting structure of a mullion-transom facade or on window constructions. In the case of a large facade surface, the movement of the wings makes the movement of the wind visible on the facade, creating a very fluid image.
