Just as fashion in terms of clothes and hairstyles goes through a revolutionary change every now and then, architectural structures and building patterns also transform in their styles. But one cannot do away with the old buildings, just because their styles are not in vogue anymore. The Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has come up with a simple, cost-effective, easily constructed skin that promises to transform dated structures into sustainable and stunning buildings. The “Tower Skin” concept is a transparent cover composed of high-performance composite mesh textile that is wrapped around an existing structure to act as a “micro-climate”. It generates energy with photovoltaic cells, collects rainwater, improves day lighting and uses available convective energy to power the towers’ ventilation requirements. The skin not only uses the vented air from existing rooms to convert into energy, but also acts as an intelligent media surface that can be used for dynamic animation and communicating information such as performances and campus events in real time. Through the Tower Skin, the need for demolition and rebuilding is eliminated.

The multinational architectural practice, LAVA used this architectural system for a re-shaping of the University of Technology (UTS) Broadway Tower in Sydney, Australia which has long been labeled as Sydney’s ugliest building. LAVA has proposed to use this skin concept even for the much maligned car park in Sydney’s car park in Sydney’s CBD and is also looking to transform many other eyesores across the world. The Tower Skin concept design is on display at STATE, RESPOND.


Via – [Greenlaunches]

Topics: Building Tags: on February 12, 2010

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