Responsive envelope tessellation and stochastic rotation of 4-fold penttiles

• Main Authors: Sambit Datta, Stuart Hanafin, Robert F. Woodbury
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2014-06-01
• Series: Frontiers of Architectural Research
• Subjects: Facade tessellation; Stochastic rotation; Responsive envelopes; Moveable facade components; Parametric modelling
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095263514000156

This paper reports on the design and control of a responsive envelope based on the rotation of tessellated components. The study investigates responsive and dynamic approaches for building facades and envelopes to regulate solar shading, light control, views and thermal gain within the building. It is well known that near real-time visual output from computational simulation can significantly impact the prediction of dynamic building-environment interactions and lead to the development of smart, adaptable, net zero energy buildings. To address these motivations, this paper reports the development of an experimental simulation of a responsive envelope based on using a 4-fold penttile scheme. The simulation is developed using a novel pentagonal approach involving component (tile) design, tessellation and control methods. The paper further elaborates on the geometry and control aspects of the facade subdivision and presents the results of applying this tessellation geometry to a building envelope shading study based on facade components with rotation. Finally, it tests the “responsiveness” to multiple performance metrics by applying a non-deterministic exploration method for the stochastic rotation of individual panels. The sophisticated evaluation of alternative envelope configurations for a set of performance criteria require a tighter computational coupling between modelling and control of dynamic geometry.