Mediating Weathers

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Mediating Weathers - Nadya Volicer

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Mediating Weathers

Third Weather

This project is about weather, specifically a kind of third weather that is present within the home, located in the in between spaces; panes of glass, wall cavities, even entire rooms in the case of the greenhouse and root cellar. These spaces are conditioned to have a weather distinct from the exterior and that of the domestic interior, whose comfort levels fall in a predictable middle range. If we examine these spaces as having a climatic condition all their own, how can we create third weathers that not only mediate between exterior and interior weathers, but also offer a potential physiological benefit to inhabitants, as well as a degree of spectacle for viewers both inside and out? And how can sentient technologies assist in the functioning of this new kind of all-weather house?

Three weathers


Third Weather

Origins

The origins of this third weather lie in the history of the wall cavity. In the early 19th century, scientist Adolf Wilhem Keim diagnosed a kind of wall disease, called Mauerfrass, caused by moisture becoming trapped with the wall itself. The cause was the introduction of mechanical heating systems into specifically multi-story apartment buildings. Keim’s solution was to separate the structure from the skin and ventilate the cavity. Through this problem-solving innovation, the third weather was born (Thresholds 30, Jarzombek).

In addition to the ventilation cavity produced by the separation of exterior and interior wall, the waterproofing membrane was born. Earliest versions of the now ubiquitous Tyvek were coatings of asphalt and later sheets of tar paper. All of these solutions aim to contain the moisture inherent within the third weather space and prevent it from entering the interior of the building. This cavity is also visually sealed off from the inhabitant creating an invisible bufferr between interior and exterior. But what if this space were made visible, even habitable. This investigation into third weathers thus begins with an early example in which this mediating cavity is exposed.

Mauerfrass

Typical wall section


The Glass Block

Origins

The earliest patent for a hollow glass block was filed in 1889 by Gustave Falconnier [1845-1913], an engineer and architect from Nyon, Switzerland. At that time other manufacturers were producing glass bricks to be set into newly discovered reinforced concrete. But Falconnier’s design had the advantage of the sealed cavity providing thermal and sound barrier.

“By making such bricks or blocks hollow, especially when they are made air-tight, they possess several advantages over other materials, being cheap, light, durable, and ornamental. Further, by reason of their inclosing and confining air in a state of rest they serve as non-conductors of heat,” (US Patent No. 402,073).

Falconnier’s Original Patent

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The Glass Block

Standards

In 1935, Corning Glassworks developed the Corning-Steuben block, which combined industrial glass production with Glasonnier’s hollow cavity to produce the precursor to the ubiquitous glass block we know today. This block consists of two moulded halves of heat-proof glass with a hollow interior melted together under high temperatures.

Pittsburgh Corning currently produces blocks in varying patterns, degrees of transparency, and thermal performance. Aside from various finishing units, and one model whose increased depth allows it to be placed into a double-wythe wall, the geometry of the Pittsburgh Corning blocks are confined to a square.

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Crystal Brick, Atelier Tekuto

The Glass Block

Applications/Variations

Often associated with commercial buildings of a certain era, architects have struggled to liberate the glass block from this dated image. Despite this challenge, architects continue to use the standard glass block for contemporary and unexpected applications.

Below right is a rendering of the interior of a facade designed by artist Olafur Eliasson for the Harpa Concert & Conference Centre in Reikjavik, Iceland. The structure of the skin can be seen as a customization of the ubiquitous glass block, the geometry here reconfigured in reference to the basalt columns common on the island.

Harpa Concert & Conference CentreMaison Hermès Tokyo, Renzo piano htt

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Albrecht Durer, Adam & Eve, 1504

Peter Cook, Instant City, 1968

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The Urban Naturist

Problems of Place

The Urban Naturist reluctantly dwells in the city as his job, school or family requires, but he truly longs to exist in harmony with nature. This includes the desire to dispense with clothing in order to return to a more natural state. The American writer Walt Whitman describes it this way:

“Sweet, sane, still Nakedness in Nature! - ah if poor, sick, prurient humanity in cities might really know you once more! Is not nakedness indecent? No, not inherently. It is your thought, your sophistication, your fear, your respectability, that is indecent. There come moods when these clothes of ours are not only too irksome to wear, but are themselves indecent.”

Such a sentiment poses certain architectural challenges for the Urban Naturist. By day, he seeks access to sunlight and connection with the outdoors. By night, he chooses to be free of the constraints of city life while in the privacy of his own home. However, due to the density in which many city dwellers find themselves, the Urban Naturist risks alienation, even victimization, should he not draw his curtains tight after dusk.

The plight of the Urban Naturist poses opportunities to rethink transparency in the city dweller’s home. How can the standard glass block be modified to mediate these changing conditions?


Nature’s Solar Shade

Degrees of Transparency

the Urban Naturist

Goals of Augmentation

Taking the standard glass block as a starting point, the following objectives were established in order to accomodate the varying needs of the Urban Naturist:

Optimize daylightMeteorological adjustment for solar gainNightly conversion to privacy screen

Additional aims of the augmentation were that the glass block be maintained as an autonomous object that need only be “plugged in”. A wall configuration of these blocks is in the service of the inhabitant foremost, but does not neglect its neighborhood presence. And finally, the smart block should produce its own power if at all possible.

Based upon these goals, it appeared that a two-sided, multi-modal system would be necessary to enable the block to adapt to these changing conditions. On the one hand, the block should respond to the environment during the day. But it must know that when night falls, it should cater to the movements of the inhabitant.

July January Nightly

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Summer sun/Nighttime inhabitant

Winter sun/no inhabitant

Foliage Block

Sensing and Actuating

When the sun is shining on a given block in summer, the photocell will trigger the fan to turn on, thus creating a flutter of leaves in order to filter the direct sunlight and cast a dappled condition on the interior. When out of direct sunlight, the fan will not be triggered and an LED instead will illuminate the block. On a sunny day, on a south facing wall, a wave of fluttering leaves will track the sun’s path. In the winter, the sun will not trigger the fans so as to allow as much direct sunlight as possible to penetrate to the interior.

Nightmode tracks the movements of the inhabitant rather than the sun. When a presence is detected by a given block, the fans will be triggered and the leaves will flutter. Where no presence is detected, the LED will illuminate the block. From the exterior, one would observe the movements of the inhabitants as a fluttering of leaves tracking across the surface of the wall.


float damper=0.01;//factor by which to multiply photocell reading to allow for spring-like action in response time float dampedValue;//the adjusted value of the photocell reading float average;//calibrated average of the photocell int threshold=100;//to give a cushion to readings from the photocellvoid setup(){ Serial.begin(9600);//Begining Serial Connection pinMode(5,OUTPUT);//fan 1 pinMode(6,OUTPUT);//fan 2 pinMode(7,OUTPUT);//fan 3 pinMode(13,OUTPUT);//LED light Serial.println(“System Ready”); for (int i=0; i<20; i++){//calibrating the photocell average=average+analogRead(5);} average=average/20; Serial.println(average); delay(1000);

}void loop(){ int in = analogRead(5);//reading the photocell dampedValue = dampedValue + (in-dampedValue)*damper; if(dampedValue>average+threshold) digitalWrite(5,HIGH);//turn fan 1 on else digitalWrite(5,LOW);//turn fan 1 off if(dampedValue>average+threshold) digitalWrite(6,HIGH);//turn fan 2 on else digitalWrite(6,LOW);//turn fan 2 off if(dampedValue>average+threshold) digitalWrite(7,HIGH);//turn fan 3 on else digitalWrite(7,LOW);//turn fan 3 off if(dampedValue<average+threshold) digitalWrite(13,HIGH); //turn LED off else digitalWrite(13,LOW);//turn LED on Serial.println(dampedValue);}


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Arduino Day Mode Wiring Diagram


Trial and Error

Solution I

Working Prototype

Process of Elimination

The greatest challenge in developing the working prototype proved to be the kinetics, specifically fluid dynamics, rather than issues with the sensor communicating with the actuators. In a sealed container it appeared a fan without intake or outlet achieved a kind of stalemate equilibrium and it proved difficult to achieve motion. Venting at the top and bottom of the block was essential in creating sufficient air flow. Even so, the minimal resistance of the grate caused problems and many materials were tested, including tissues, trace paper, Styrofoam, and the bubbles from plastic packaging.

The addition of a screen covering the fan, while adding unwanted wind resistance, proved necessary for smaller items that would get lodged in and around the fans. Plastic bags cut into small pieces, while having the additional issue of static, were finally the easiest to move with the given air flow.

Solution I involved attaching strips of plastic bags to the plastic mesh covering the fans. This had the unexpected effect of creating a kind of parachute in which the plastic mesh was lifted up by the force of air on the attached strips. The result was ironic as what had proved most difficult was succeeding in lifting the lightest of materials with the fans. The final solution for this phase of the project was to cut the plastic bags into the initially desired leaf shapes, and provided there were not too many of the objects in the block, they would indeed flutter around, as documented in the Proof of Concept Video (link at right). htt

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Foliage Block

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Glass Block as Snow Globe

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Fog Block

The Glass Block

Augmentations

The Fog Block relies upon mist to serve as cloud cover to shield from solar gain and provide privacy. Mainting the expected dimensions of the ubiquitous glass block, this unit is designed for plug and play capabilities and is hermetically sealed. It is fully autonomous and is powered through a solar pv film that continuously recharges a 24v battery. In this way, Fog Block invites the weather into the intermediate zone of the house and uses it to mediate between the interior and exterior weathers. It also provides a spectacle both for the inhabitant and passersby.

Sensing and actuating technologies are vital to the augmented glass block. Two photocells first determine whether the interior or the exterior is brighter and based upon this reading perform functions. If the outside is brighter, but not too bright, an LED illuminates the cavity. If there is direct sunlight on the block, a mister and a fan turn on, creating fog for the purposes of shading. If the inside is brighter but nobody is sensed by an infrared presence detector, the LED remains on. Once a presence is detected, the mister and fan are again triggered to created fog for the purposes of privacy.

Cloud Cover Shading


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Fan & Relay Fogger 24V Power Supply LED IR DistanceSensor

Photocell & Resistor

Arduino Fog Block Wiring Diagram


Scenario Flow

Conditional Commands and Code

int DifferenceThreshold=20;

int TooBrightThreshold=850;

int DisThreshold=150;

int PCOut=0;

int PCIn=0;

int Dis=0;

int PCOutPin=5;

int PCInPin=4;

int DisPin=3;

int Fan=2;

int Mist=3;

int LED=4;

void setup(){

Serial.begin(9600);

pinMode(Fan,OUTPUT);

pinMode(Mist,OUTPUT);

pinMode(LED,OUTPUT);

}

void loop(){

PCOut=analogRead(PCOutPin);

PCIn=analogRead(PCInPin);

Dis=analogRead(DisPin);

if(PCOut>PCIn+DifferenceThreshold){

OutBrighter();

}

else{

InBrighter();

}

Serial.println(PCOut);


Scenario Flow

Arduino Code cont.

Serial.println(PCIn);

Serial.println(Dis);

Serial.

println(“...................”);

delay(1000);

}

void InBrighter(){

if(Dis>DisThreshold){

InBrightwithSomebody();

}

else{

InBrightwithNobody();

}

}

void InBrightwithSomebody(){

Serial.println(“InBRIGHTER But

SOMEBODY”);

digitalWrite(Fan,HIGH);

digitalWrite(Mist,HIGH);

digitalWrite(LED,LOW);

}

void InBrightwithNobody(){

Serial.println(“InBRIGHTER But

NOBODY”);

digitalWrite(Fan,LOW);

digitalWrite(Mist,LOW);

digitalWrite(LED,HIGH);

}

void OutBrighter(){

if (PCOut>TooBrightThreshold){

OutTooBright();

}

else{

OutNotTooBright();

}

}

void OutTooBright(){

Serial.println(“OUTBRIGHTER and

TOOBRIGHT”);

digitalWrite(Fan,HIGH);

digitalWrite(Mist,HIGH);

digitalWrite(LED,LOW);

}

void OutNotTooBright(){

Serial.println(“OUTBRIGHTER But

Not TOOBRIGHT”);

digitalWrite(Fan,LOW);

digitalWrite(Mist,LOW);

digitalWrite(LED,HIGH);

}


EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGY PATENT [14]

FOG BLOCK(2010)Patent Number: 1,234,567

(54) Patent for “Fog Block”

(54) METHOD FOR MEDIATING SOLAR GAIN WHILE MAINTAINING MAXIMUM TRANSPARENCY AND PROVIDING PRIVACY SCREEN AT NIGHT(76) Inventors: Nadya Volicer, Nashid Nabian, Rodolph el-Khoury

Correspondence Address:77 Massachusetts AvenueCambridge, MA 02139TEL: (617)257-8449

(21) Initial Application: MIT,Cambridge, MA USA

By placing (60) a cloud inside of a glass block, (61) direct sunlight can be mediated by its mist; intermediate weather deflects exterior weather creating interior weather. How it works: photocells on both the exterior and interior of the block sense which side is receiving more light. If it is the exterior, it is determined whether there is direct sunlight or not. If direct sunlight is present, a mister and fan are activated, filling the block with fog, thus providing solar shading. If there is no direct sunlight, an LED offers simulated sunlight. If it is determined that it is brighter on the interior of the block, an infrared sensor then determines whether there is someone near to the block. If no one is there, the block remains transparent. If someone is there, the mister, fan, and LED are activated, creating a privacy screen for the inhabitant. Dimensions of the Fog Block are compatible with the standard glass block and it is self-powered by photovoltaic film that stores energy in a rechargeable 24v battery within the channel of the block.

1/2”

60

61

[23] ABSTRACT

(22) Filed..............2010

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3


3”PV cells on film

PV cells on film24V rechargeable battery

LEDFanPhotocell

IR sensor

Fogger

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Fog Block

Power

In order to maintain the Fog Block as an autonomous, plug and play buidling unit, new technologies in photovoltaic energy generation and storage will be utilized. Transparent solar panels made up of tiny pv cells are embedded in a film that can be merged with an exterior window. Because the film is conductive, the cells need not follow the usual grid pattern and new configurations can be envisioned. Fog Block utilizes a Rhino Script to organize the pv cells in a randomized pattern that favors obstructing the mortar channel and interior hardware while maintaining maximum transparency in the center of the block.

Option Explicit

Sub Main

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’ GET THE INITIAL SURFACE

Dim strObject : strObject = Rhino.GetObject(“Select

surface”, 8)

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’ GET THE NUMBER OF ROWS FOR THE

SURFACE

Dim nRows : nRows = Rhino.GetInteger(“Number

of rows (density of pattern in x direction)”, 2, 2)

nRows = nRows - 1

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’ GET THE NUMBER OF COLUMNS FOR

THE SURFACE

Dim nColumns : nColumns = Rhino.

GetInteger(“Number of columns (density of pattern

in y direction)”, 2, 2)

nColumns = nColumns - 1

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ GET THE SURFACE DOMAIN

Dim U : U = Rhino.SurfaceDomain(strObject, 0)

Dim V : V = Rhino.SurfaceDomain(strObject, 1)

Dim x : x = 0

Dim y : y = 0

Dim i, j

Dim arrPt(401,401)

Dim arrParam(1)

Call Rhino.EnableRedraw (False)

’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ADD POINTS & TRANSLATE FROM

SURFACE DOMAIN TO CARTESIAN

COORDINATE POINTS

For i = 0 To nRows

arrParam(0) = U(0) + (((U(1) - U(0)) / nRows) * i)

For j = 0 To nColumns

arrParam(1) = V(0) + (((V(1) - V(0)) / nColumns) * j)

arrPt(i,j) = Rhino.EvaluateSurface(strObject,

arrParam)

Next

Next

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’ADD THE CIRCLES

Dim arrPolyline

Dim w, z, r

For w = 0 To (nRows-1)

For z = 0 To (nColumns-1)

‘DRAW INITIAL POLYLINE

‘Define random number between (0,5) - random(0,5)

r=Rnd()*4

‘r=rnd()*3+5

If r>3 Then

arrPolyline = Rhino.AddCircle3Pt

(arrPt(w,z),arrPt(w+.5,z), arrPt(w+.5,z+.5))

End If

Next

Next

Call Rhino.EnableRedraw (True)

End Sub

Main

Function random(low, up)

Randomize

random = (up - low) * Rnd + low

End Function

Transparent Solar Panels


Circuit Diagram

Fog Block

Circuit

In an effort to dispense with the breadboard and streamline the Fog Block prototype, a circuit board was designed and cut from copper on the vinyl cutter. The copper was then adhered to a piece of plexi and pins were soldered individually to each junction. The diagram below describes the paths of each device through the circuit and back to Arduino.

Vinyl Cut Copper Circuit

Device pin input: foggerDevice ground input: fogger

Device ground input: fan

Device pin input: fan

Arduino power 5V

Device ground: photocell 1Analog pin 4: photocell 1

Analog pin 5: photocell 2Device ground: IR sensor

Analog pin 3: IR sensorDevice ground: LED

Digital Pin 4: LED

Device ground: IR sensor Device ground: LED

Device ground: photocell 2

Device power 5V: photocell 1

Device power 5V: photocell 2

Device power 5V: IR distance sensor

External power ground: foggerExterior power pin: fogger

Digital pin 3: fogger

Arduino ground

Arduino ground

Digital pin 2: fan


Fog Block Prototype II

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Mediating Weathers

Applications

Applying the Fog Block to the site, located in the urban neighborhood of Cambridgeport, MA, it could prove a useful treatment of both the east and west facades of this residential lot as they border sidewalks and must mediate direct sunlight. But what are some of the other environmental factors one must address in looking at the site and what other kind of third weathers could mediate between exterior and interior conditions?

Mapping weathers on site

Thickening Wall

Air flowHumidity

LightTemperature

Because exterior weathers affect areas of the site in varying ways, what other systems could be combined with the Fog Block in order to optimize performance? Revisiting precedents, it is clear that third weather conditions exist on numerous scales; from the hermetically sealed double paned window to the inhabitable solarium. Taking advantage of this range, one could image the home as a thickening wall, incorporating systems at several scales to the point at which the wall becomes the entire room; the third weather all encompassing.


Cambridgeport Neighborhood

89 Brookline Street


Massing

Mediating Weathers

The massing takes the thickened wall and coiling it tightly, tucks the widest end back under itself. Where this wall begins from the thinness of glass block, it concludes in the ultimate thickness of the earth as it dives underground. While in essence a retreat from the exterior weather, this subterranean space maintains its connection with the elements via the greenhouse sloping down into the ground. This central space, occupying the full width of the wall, operates both as garden and circulation for the adjacent spaces.


Exterior weather

air flowhumiditylighttemperature

Mediated Interior

coolingheatingsolar shadingventilation

Weather as Media

cloudsrainsunlightwind

“Express the contiguity of this hollow space as a formative figure that organizes architecture and choreographs acitivities.”

Sheila Kennedy, Material Misuse


Rain

Cooling

Terrariums are a self contained environments. Requiring only periodic watering, these systems sustain themselves through a process of evaporation and condenstation. Moisture in the Terrarium evaporates from the soil and plant leaves and condenses on the roof and walls. It then rains down and re-moistens the soil in a continual, closed loop process. If the system is sealed, it can continue for months before needing to be replenished with water. The Terrarium is another kind of micro-climate and while not ideal to inhabit, could be utilized as a semi-permeable wall system.

Provided the Terrarium model were allowed to ventilate, this nightly rain shower within the wall cavity could help to cool the living space. By allowing night air to pass through this this third weather en route to the interior, an effect could be achieved similar to cool breezes blowing across a lake. In winter, the sealed Terrarium would trap heat during the day and provide a buffer to colder exterior temperatures. These effects require a system able to adjust for both seasonal and daily modes. If it’s summer, the system should check whether it is hotter inside or outside. If it’s hotter outside, the wall should remain closed. If it’s hotter inside, the wall should open. If it’s winter, the wall system should remain closed. This module has its privacy screening built in as the cavity is filled with foliage.

Rain Wall System

Wardian Case: the Original Terrarium


Air Intake Flap

Air Exhaust Flap

Soil Container

Air Intake Flap

Soil ContainerCondenstationCollector

48”

6”


Wind

Ventilation

One strategy for ventilation could involve a hybrid between a windcatcher and a double-skin facade. The double-skin facade creates a third weather between the inner and outer facades, both of which can be operable. Looking at the corridor version of this system, in which the cavity stretches the entire width of the floor, it could be applied to the north-east face of the building and open up to the strongest winds hitting the eastern corner of the lot. The effects of channelling this wind into a chamber could be acheived by turning the windcatcher system on its side.

This system would operate by opening and closing the exterior openings depending upon the season. In the winter, the facade should remain closed so that the warmer third weather can act as thermal insulation. During warmer months, the exterior would remain fully open to facilitate ventilating the intermediate zone and the interior openings could be controlled based upon level of air flow and temperature. Within the cavity of the wall, tall grasses would provide an interiorized nature as well as a visual registration of wind speed for the inhabitant.

Wind Wall System

Windcatcher + Double-skin Facade

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Meadow Cavity and Thermal Buffer


Sun

Heat and Light

The origins of the glass house lie in the greenhouse, designed to trap energy from the sun within the interior of the space. This is the result of plants and soil absorbing visible solar radiation and re-radiating that energy in the infra-red spectrum, thus trapping much of the heat on the inside of the glass which is partly opaque to this form of light. Though some heat loss does occur through conduction, a net increase of energy results and there is an increase in temperature inside of the greenhouse (Wikipedia). A sloping, southeast facing wall is ideal for this condition.

Capitalizing on sun exposure also assists in daylighting for the interior. This is not only associated with energy savings, but also with proven health benefits, both physiological and psychological. Sunlight is constantly shifting in a predictable pattern based on location, season, and time of day. This lighting condition, however, is not always reliable. In Cambridge, MA, the mean number of cloudy days in a year are 164 and partially cloudy days number 103 (http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/cldy.html). A greenhouse in Cambridge could augment its natural lighting condition with a sunlight simulator. A grid of scattering, bioconcave lenses could be programmed to supplement the natural sun path, so that the lighting on the interior progresses daily as if the sun was shining 365 days of the year.

Bioconcave Lens and Sunpath

Greenhouse

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4”

2”

Light dispersing lens

Sunlight simulator surface


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Mediating Weathers

Documents

Transcript of Mediating Weathers