W3 BLOG


 WEEK3



 1.     W3 - Materials inspired by squid skin

 https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/09_UCI_DELTA_Kickoff.pdf
I was reading online about materiality and how we should be finding ways for our material to be more sustainable as we use so much of it. When looking squid, octopus, and cuttlefish they have skin that can constantly change to camouflage themselves to their surroundings. One project at ARPA-E, which is a collaboration between University of California, Irvine researchers and fitness brand Under Armour, is looking into how these animals change the appearance of their skin, to make clothing or other devices that can heat and cool on demand. Even though they are looking into clothing, such materials could have a bigger effect on effect on energy efficiency and could be used in major energy users like buildings or power plants.
Other projects at ARPA-E are testing materials that could be more temperature adaptive and thus efficient. There are also many other countries who are interested in this type of research such as San Francisco-based company Otherlab who is looking at how to change the thickness of materials depending on different temperatures. Cornell University is working on clothing that can sense temperature and then send an alert to the buildings sensing system to deliver heating or cooling. These investigations into such ideas are excellent are could provide us future alternatives.

  


2.     W3- Algae-powered building


The idea of Green Architecture’, has become a big part of new design today. Does it make sense to power buildings with algae? That’s the question that arises with the Bio Intelligent Quotient building, in Germany. Is algae the next sustainable building technology? Could it work in Australia?

The building walls’ external fabric includes a “bio-skin” of hollow grass panels on which the algae photosynthesises and grows. The algae is harvested from the walls and fermented in a biogas plant to produce electricity. This algae is providing a clean source of renewable energy. I believe this could be the next innovative sustainable building technology as biomass/biofuel is good for the environment, reduces carbon footprint and also it is aesthetically different. I believe that Innovation by the courageous will move the debate and the technology forward.

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