Experiments for layer 2: Insulation

Foam:

P.U. Foam

Silicone





Layers

The intimacy surface will exists out of 3 main layers referring to the human skin with their corresponding functions.

1) Screen against insects

2) Insulation

3) Curtain system: open/closed effect

The layers should be able to work separately but also together.

Layers 1 and 2 create the open scene and should therefore be transparent or semi-transparent. Layer 3 creates the closed scene.

Layer 1 will also be water resistant. The texture of this perforated sheet will refer to the texture of our skin. This layer will also be the layer which the customers can adapt to their own preference, this referring to the decorating of our own skin with tattoos, piercings, jewelry and clothes. This layer will probably be made out of translucent polycarbonate.

The insulating layer 2 will have an open cell structure probably out of translucent foam.

Layer 3 will provide a storage space and probably be made out of fabric.

Program?

The design will be an advanced curtain system created out of different layers and inspired by the human skin. As a function it will be insulating and creates a ‘new’ façade. Insulation means that the created surface will provide protection and temperature regulation. As a supplement function it will be water resistant and provide storage and sensation.

The scale will be of the human ( the interior) but by duplicating the modular system it will grow to an exterior scale .

Insulation:

Open cell

The skin has an open cell/pores structure just like a sponge. This could be the inspiration for the new material I will create which will exist out of several open foam layers.

Open cell:

Sponge:

A nice example of this application in the product design world is the Breathing Chair by Yu-Ying Wu.

Skin

A façade is seen as the skin of a building. Based on the characters of our human skin I will develop the design. This skin compared to a façade has also different layers, a structure (with pores), a color (nude), a material (stretch/soft ) and insulates. Other characteristics of the skin that I can use as an inspiration for the design is that it grows old (wrinkles), restores itself ( when injured), grows (develops together with your body), is adjusted to the specific person ( living in different weather conditions). The human skin also opens and closes it selves ( breaths ). This aspect I want to achieve in the intimacy wall I will create. We also decorate our skin with tattoos, jewelry, piercings and clothes this to our own preferences, this is where the adjustable part of the surface comes in.

The human skin has multiple layers and guards the underlying elements. The skin interfaces with the environment and is therefore the layer that protects the body and absorbs the sunlight while filtering it. The most important characteristic of the skin is that it ages. The skin wrinkles because it becomes thinner and it decreases in volume and elasticity. Another characteristic is that the ticker the skin, the darker because it has more layers.

Functions of the skin:

×          Protection

×          Insulation

×          Temperature regulation

×          Sensation

×          Storage

×          Water resistance

 The human skin has 3 primary layers:

×          Epidermis: provides the waterproofing and is a barrier to infection

×          Dermis: consists out of connective tissue, cushions and blood vessels. This is the layer that provides the structure.

×          Hypodermus/Subcutis: This is a layer of fat which attaches the skin to the underlying elements.

The surface I will create should also have these functions and layers.

Looking closer to the structure of the skin.

What?

The surface should create an open and closed scene on its own or by the flow of the people. I want to keep the movement natural so it should not become a high-tech wall. In the research I also talk about seeing and being seen. The wall sculpture I will make will also attack this aspects.

 

 

Answering to the question ‘what will it become’?

The final design will  be an advanced low tech curtain system creating an identity for the façade on the border of the inside and the outside. This adaptable curtain system will show the character of the inhabitants on both sides. The inhabitants will be able to make the surface their own.

 

 

The intimacy wall will have to be made out of a light material which I will create. Due to different layers it will be insulating.

Identity facade

The goal is to create a textured surface which makes a space more tactile and creates a dramatic flowing space. This while creating a new material which ideally should be sound-damping and insulating.

  

As a conclusion my motivation came there to give and identity to the monochrome architecture in this world. Since the design should create a personal scene it will be adjustable to the clients preferences. By this fact the screen will create a different look on the outside and inside while giving identity to the façade. With a simple element the design will create a different scene/atmosphere in each interior (and related exterior) space. Due to this aspect the screen will create a space within a space.

  

The design also came there due to the reason that we all have our private border and the fact that in our lives we constantly get confronted with borders. Such as the border between inside and outside and between private and public. I also got confronted with these borders in my research and want to seek for a possible solution.

The fact that I want to create a screen also came there due to the reason that I want to develop something that could be new on the market and can be produced.

Examples of identity facades:

A facade by Jenna Didier

Bicycle shop facade

Wrapped Reichstag by Christo

A facade by Gisela Stromeyer



Pattern

I started to translate the characteristics of the plants into a pattern while exploring different cutting techniques in paper. The tiles are all twenty by twenty centimeter.

Inspiration: Mimosa Pudica

Inspiration: Venus Flytrap



Inspiration: Drosera

Inspiration: Sea Anemone

Inspirational Flora

 

My work will be based on shapes and characters of different plants as to create a pattern and a natural movement. Here are some examples of moving plants.   

Mimosa Pudica

The Mimosa Pudica is been referred to as the sensitive plant, the moving plant, touch-me-not, shy plant and sleeping grass. The leaves of this plant fold inwards and droop when touched or shaken, while re-opening minutes later.

Venus Flytrap - Carnivorous plant

Drosera - Carnivorous plant

Sea Anemone

Intimacy wall

I am wondering about designing an advanced curtain system. Because this was an important aspect in my research, where I focused on the habit of looking through the window and on monochrome architecture which can be transformed by a personal window screen. The created surface will move on its own and  relate to the plants outside ( like in the movies ) and be a pleasure to look at. The houses will look more alive and welcoming thanks to the interactive surface and it will also be more interesting for the viewer. One inspiration source is the movie I have made from the hedge with moving leaves due to the wind.

 

Hanging the surface in front of a window will therefore have a bigger effect because it will move because of wind, heating and air conditioning. The screens can also be used as room dividers since they can be created in a frame. The surface will form the borderline between inside and outside. It will cause separation and privacy but can also open itself up. I would call the surface for the moment: Intimacy wall. The surface would serve the inhabitants of modern houses with huge windows and office buildings very well.