Urban Micro Climate Canopy
TUM, Winter Term 2017/18
The research studio “Urban Micro Climate Canopy” aims to synthesizes the research fields climate responsive design, green technologies in architecture and resource efficient construction by utilizing the integrative capacity of fibrous lightweight structures to embed technical installations as well as biological functional elements that contribute to enhanced air quality and outdoor comfort.
The ongoing densification and urbanization of the build environment poses a series of challenges for its planning and fabrication. How can good air quality and comfortable micro climatic conditions be ensured in dense environments and how can we cope with the immense consumption of resources during construction? As these performance criteria become of mayor importance in the building sector it is crucial to avoid isolated building technological solutions, but instrumentalize these economic and ecologic requirements as design drivers and explore the resulting implications for the architectural design process.
The integrative capacity of computational design and digital fabrication strategies allows to improve key performance factors like micro climatic impact and material efficiency in conjunction with underlying fabrication and materialization constraints and opportunities. Thus allowing to linking building technological developments with exploration of a novel design repertoire. Especially the anisotropic character of fiber composite materials can form the base for development of material expressive and function integrating lightweight constructions.
Microclimatic functionalization of the mobile lightweight structure can be achieved by integrating selected plants with different properties, such as noise reduction, wind protection and air purification. In addition to the integrated lighting, we want to explore how further technical installations, such as climate-sensing sensors, can be wrapped into the fiber structure. This could allow for valuable data to be collected on the urban microclimate, as well as the impact of the installation on the perceived outdoor comfort.
The project offers the opportunity to work in a research oriented project at the interface between architecture, landscape architecture and urban climate research with an interdisciplinary team of diverse expertise:
– Baubotanik, noise reduction, wind protection / roofing, air filtration, biodiversity, urban planning (Ludwig)
– Functionally integrating fiber composite light-weight structures, light design, material efficiency (Dörstelmann)
– Urban microclimate, outdoor comfort, simulation, modulation, sensor integration (Auer)