Adaptive Windbreak

The brief of the project was to research and design an inhabitable, responsive surface capable of adapting to both its environment and its users, employing both passive and active strategies, leading to novel spatial effects for programmatic use. The material system had to address the design problem at different scales and generate responsiveness and interactivity at the local, regional, and global levels through the intelligence of material and geometry. The surface had to be designed as an urban intervention in the plaza confined by the River Thames and The Scoop, adjacent to London City Hall.

Looking at the specifity of the site, our goal in addressing the brief was to create a responsive wind shelter, borrowing strategies from both natural and artificial windshield typologies. Studies on branching systems and interaction of tree foliage with the wind were performed. A recursive algorithm was created to differentiate surfaces with a branching logic. This led to the design of a component capable of vibrating at different frequencies in order to dissipate wind energy was designed.
Finally, wind pressure and sun radiation on site were taken into account to modulate environmental conditions in the area through a responsive wind-shield.

Dennis Goff, Amin Hassanpour, Eleni Meladaki, Vincenzo Reale