Abstract
Building façades play an important role in the performance of buildings. They define the architectural aesthetics of buildings and separate the occupied indoor space from the outdoor environment. Historically, façades were considered to be a load-bearing structural element and limited in their functionality and adaptability to environmental changes. The application of bio-inspired strategies to building façades that are derived from principles found in nature offers more flexibility and adaptability to the external environment. This research presents a bio-inspired adaptive façade system that is derived through the biological analysis of a deformability mechanism, namely, turgor-based actuation, found in plant movements. The adaptive prototype module inspired by a nastic movement is composed of two lightweight triangular plates connected to pneumatic artificial muscles that control folding and unfolding of the device by pressurization. Finally, the application of adaptive modules in a building façade is simulated via computational 3D modelling. The simulation analysis shows the possibility of creating a system from numerous modules that can create a rich palette of typologies resulting in a gradient of openings. This could be an appropriate solution for an external shading device or as regulator for air ventilation and light transmission.
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