designing a façade for an office November 2009
The aim of the assignment was the design of a technically innovative façade which would be constructed in the Civil Engineering BtLab, TU Delft. Although its destination, the proposed solutions of the façade should have all the architectonic and environmental qualities appropriate for an external façade. What determined the design approach and concept of the proposed façade was the observations concerning the unpleasant atmosphere and the absolute unilateral communication between the officer (Kees) and the students working in the lab, caused by the rigid, flat geometry of the wall. Consequently, the main goal was to transmute the given impression of the space into a friendlier, harmonious and yet stimulating one.
The opposite of the observed austere static rectangular geometry is an organic geometry-structure, who is often perceived as losing overall control because it is virtually “messy” and not immediately apprehensible. That is why the design approach of the “stimulating façade” took this specific direction. Some of the qualities of structures identified as organic are: complexity, adaptability and variation. These qualities are adopted by the proposed design. Furthermore, the design of the structure was carefully thought about as if it was a unified organism, which is another principal of organic architecture. The analytical calculation of the designed façade was done using the Finite Element Method of the i Diana software. Its purpose is to examine the structural behavior of the façade when specific loads are applied on it.
The opposite of the observed austere static rectangular geometry is an organic geometry-structure, who is often perceived as losing overall control because it is virtually “messy” and not immediately apprehensible. That is why the design approach of the “stimulating façade” took this specific direction. Some of the qualities of structures identified as organic are: complexity, adaptability and variation. These qualities are adopted by the proposed design. Furthermore, the design of the structure was carefully thought about as if it was a unified organism, which is another principal of organic architecture. The analytical calculation of the designed façade was done using the Finite Element Method of the i Diana software. Its purpose is to examine the structural behavior of the façade when specific loads are applied on it.
Product Design Studio * TU Delft * project team: Ifigeneia Dilaveraki, Despoina Papadopoulou