Smart Materials Exploration In Architectural Practice
DIGITAL MATTER: INTELLIGENT CONSTRUCTIONS Polyurethene Foam The key to 21st century challenges generated by global urbanization, economic instability and environmental crisis will be the development of products with increasing levels of efficiency. Active bio-materials will play a critical role in this development, forcing architects to get free from computing devices and integrate into their designs the functions that smart materials present already on a molecular scale. In the framework of the Digital Matter Intelligent Constructions studio, students are developing case studies exploring construction systems to be applied at architectural scale, producing non-rigid, responsive and multi-functional materials and construction systems. The method of investigation they are using follows an experimental approach and progress from small scale material sampling to the production of 1:1 scale architectural components and prototypes. Their projects implement active materials, inf