Fit for the Future

Introduction and Contemporary Research Facts:

This research responds to today’s climatic crises by rethinking building skins and sustainable fabrication techniques and on the other hand explores how design qualities and material investigations can contribute to the atmosphere and experience of a spatial condition in the constructed and built environment. “The summer 2023 was Earth’s hottest since global records began in 1880, according to scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The months of June, July, and August combined were 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record. June through August is considered a meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere. This new record comes as exceptional heat swept across much of the world, exacerbating deadly wildfires in Canada and Hawaii, and searing heat waves in South America, Japan, Europe, and the U.S., while likely contributing to severe rainfall in Italy, Greece, and Central Europe.” Source: NASA

Some buildings in Los Angeles, California were built decades ago for different temperatures and can no longer cope with the increased heat. Traditional methods of air conditioning require a lot of energy and especially old buildings do not perform sufficiently in these unprecedented temperatures. Alternative ideas for retrofitting facades have the potential to utilize the heat gain as energy collection or defer the light and heat away from the facade. Within this research, alternative materials for 3D printing are investigated to innovate on integration of novel and sustainable materials and construction methods. “The path towards a sustainable future requires a transition from the current linear, extractive, toxic construction practices, towards circular, bio-based, renewable materials and methods. This shift has the potential to dramatically reduce the natural resource needs and carbon footprint of growing cities and infrastructure and is critical to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact.” May 5th, 2022, Source: UN Environment Program

In addition to the climate change and the rethinking of building materials there is a new technology on the horizon which involves large scale additive manufacturing. Minimal literature is available about this topic within the architecture and construction field, though the 3D printing technology exists already since more than thirty years. “The global 3D printing construction market size is set to grow at a CAGR of ~249% from 2023 to 2035. The market for 3D printing construction is estimated to garner a revenue of nearly USD 3710 trillion by the end of 2035, up from about USD 1.4 billion in the year 2022.” Source: Globe Newswire

Within this research the ambition is to investigate innovative design approaches on how to integrate 3D printing technology on a large scale, utilizing sustainable materials for retrofitted façade proposals for two different case studies, the former Federal Aviation Administration building in Hawthorne and the Textile Center Building in the Los Angeles Fashion District. The Textile Center Building has a rich history in fashion as it was once the center for garment manufacturing. Even though it has been converted into loft-style condominiums in the early 2000s, the Textile Center Building is still recognized as a historic building at both the local and national level. In contrast the former FAA building, designed originally by Cesar Pelli, is a standard all glass façade building from the 70ties, there are many buildings such as, currently turning fifty years old, which are undergoing extensive structural and seismic retrofits.

During the research several design methodologies are applied on twelve case studies. The results are diverse and showcase the potential of rethinking traditional means and methods to make old buildings adaptive to current climate crisis.

Research Methods and Framework of Pedagogy:

During a yearlong research studio taught at the School of Arts and Architecture, Department of Architecture and Urban Design at the University of California Los Angeles, twelve students researched the design approach for future scenarios in which buildings are retro fit to improve performance. The research studio titled “Fit for the Future – Sustainable 3D printed building facades” span over three quarters (2022-23) and involved different research methodologies. Geared towards developing a pedagogy which has an interdisciplinary approach. Starting from a bio-inspired entry, instead of an architectural precedence study, towards a fashion associated application and finally applying these research methodologies on a larger building scale. The idea for this approach stems from professional practice methodology in which interdisciplinary approaches between a variety of scales is developed. Coco Chanel ones said: “Fashion is architecture, it is a matter of proportion” Source: Marcel Haedrich, Coco Chanel: Her Life, Her Secrets; Little, Brown & Company (Boston, MA), 1979, p252. It is argued that this research methodology enables students to think outside the box and develop methods and ideas which are derived from unconventional architecture design techniques and different from commonly practiced teaching methods in academia.

Firstly, students identified a natural system and researched the characteristics regarding color, pattern, organization, and rhythm. They collected specimens and photographed those, collected online images, created 3D scans of the systems, and redraw them from imagery. The ambition was to re-create the systems in 2D and 3D to understand their mathematical and geometrical logics and growth patterns. While they operated as scientists, chemists, and micro cartographers, they were asked to not think about facades or built environment and completely free their minds. As part of that exercise a digital toolset was established which supported the effort to create a 3D catalog of geometries which engaged biomimicry. Simultaneously students read supporting texts and literature on fashion, textiles, architecture, nature inspired design, 3D printing technologies and associated topics. This enabled them to establish design methodologies and formulate their unique research question regarding climate performance and “re-skinning” of existing buildings. The terms “jackets for buildings” or dresses for buildings” were established during this exercise.

Secondly the students utilized their developed digital catalogs to design an artefact for a site, in this case a face mask. This enabled them to test their design ideas on a real scale application and introduced constraints within which they needed to operate. They utilized the human face as the first site to test their ideas before moving into building scale and structural questions. The face is an interesting site since it has undulating curvature is exposed to the environment and has different areas of apertures and closed surfaces. The student’s task was to design a second skin protecting the face, engaging in apertures, terrain, and a performative aspect such as collection of tears, reflecting sunlight and heat, controlling temperature, filtering air pollution etc. The face was used as a speculative site. While at the same time introducing constraints of assembly, symmetry, attachment, and performance.

In a third phase students engaged in the study of 3D printing materials, with a focus on sustainability as well as 3D printing technologies, analysis of existing technologies and innovative novel emergent technologies. 3D printing materials such as biodegradable PLA, recycled PETG, filament based on wood, cornstarch and algae, clay and earthenware and plant-based resins are all readily available for common affordable desktop printers. At the same time the technology and material performance are scalable. The tectonics of the geometry do not need re-design or re-thinking within the scale change. What proves working in the model scale is adaptable to a larger building scale and vise versa. An intense production phase of physical prototyping and engaging in an iterative process of testing and evaluating the digital and physical components let the students to a different understanding of the technology. While they had created 3D printed models in previous studies, most of them had limited experience with typology optimization, orientation of geometry during printing or how to optimize 3D prints for supportless printing, meaning reducing excess material waste and optimizing print speed and time. The ambition in this research was towards supportless printing, minimizing waste, optimizing print paths, optimizing geometry for faster printing with less material. The research resulted in a series of 3D printed prototypes and material studies which enabled students to explore a physical design which was unique and unlike anything they had experienced before.

In the final phase students were asked to apply the research methodologies on the design of a retrofit façade for an existing building site and design buildings of the future. The retro fitted skins needed to be performative and 3D-printed with innovative sustainable materials.

Research Narrative:

As part of the pedagogical approach three narratives were established.

[fit] Fit means the suitability and quality, standard or type of an object to meet the required purpose, in this case the climatic and environment condition of buildings. It also means to be in good health or condition especially due to regular physical exercise, in buildings regarding performance, materials and maintenance. Finally, it also means to have the right size or shape to fit on, around or into something else, like a garment that fits the body, and it also means to fix or put something in place. The research investigated the fitness of buildings for the future and proposed design ideas to rethink the “Gewand” of a building. In German language “Gewand” means wearable at the same time “Wand” is the word for wall. Similarly, the word “Decke” (blanket) is what you use to cover yourself or the ceiling of a room. The architect Gottfried Semper elaborates in his essays “principle of dressing” on how facades in the 19th century were ‘dressed’. They operate as the second skin of architecture. Similarly, Adolf Loos in his essays is referencing the relationship between fashion and architecture and style. These readings supported the initial research as students familiarized themselves with the topic of the body, the building, and its versatile relationships.

[skin] The scale of wearable skins enables designers to explore geometries, innovative materials, and emergent technologies and to create applied research on a micro scale. In many ways one can see the opportunity that this research can be applied on a larger scale. For example, the vision that micro patterns can perform as a second skin around a building allowing the facade to breath and ventilate the interior, and to reflect the light and colors in many ways. One can imagine a branching structure as a scaled-up scaffolding surrounding an existing building to support its structure. Possibly it could have liquid running through its veins to cool the building or heat it pending on the climatic conditions or reinforce the central structural core.

[fabric] A cloth made by weaving or the texture of a knitted material; at the same time the meaning of the word [fabric] is also a building or edifice, a framework or structure or a method of constructing. The word originates from 1475 from the Latin word ‘fabrica’ workshop, from ‘faber’ craftsman and the process of building. Digital craftsmanship is a form of building virtual worlds, fabricating digital spaces and constructing virtual realms. In the process of digital fabrication these spatial mediations are transformed to be physical and tangible and therefore become real. While there is a loss of information due to accuracy of technology, additive manufacturing enables designers to translate, to construct these mathematical geometries rather super real, they appear not handmade, non-human, crafted by machines.

Concluding, these three topics were researched and tied together in the final project, where the exercise was to rethink how to design retrofits of existing buildings, providing them a new wearable skin, and one that responds to extreme climatic conditions.

3 Case Studies as Research Outcome:

One of the case studies, ‘Crystal Lattice’ by student Frank Yang, focused on a façade which operates simultaneously on various levels. Drawing inspirations from the weaving of textiles and crystalline formations, the proposed façade reinterprets the process of garment making into a weaving pattern of crystal latticework. Like fabrics naturally produce qualities such as overlaps and pleats, the crystalline lattice forms a multiplicity of complex layers. The dynamic changes in layering profile achieve not only unique aesthetical effects but also a series of performances that address the climatic situations unique to the site.

A three dimensionally woven surface is designed to produce overhangs that perform as shading device in front of the south facing unit windows while at the same time the aggregation of apertures is intentionally spaced to respect the rhythmic order of the existing historic facade. Excessive UV light exposure is reduced and a material, recycled PETG, with high UV resistance was chosen for the proposed 3d fabrication. Furthermore, the design acts as wind scoops to break down heavy westward winds to naturally ventilate the building. The wind scoops capture westward wind to allow for natural ventilation while maintaining viewing portals to the surroundings.

Since the site is situated in a dense urban context, onsite fabrication of the retrofit facade is considered challenging, given there is limited space to set up any large-scale 3D printer. Instead, the idea was developed that the façade will be subdivided into repeatable modules to be fabricated off-site in a controlled environment, using a robotic arm mounted on a movable track. This allows the modular parts to be printed up to a maximum length of 100ft long. However, considering that transporting via trucks will be required, each PETG module ranges up to a maximum of 53 ft to fit on the largest common truck bed. The existing building requires slight modification and retrofit to its structure to accommodate the additional weight of the 3D printed modules. A series of steel outrigger attachments project from the façade to support channels for receiving the PETG modules.

The benefit of this system is its ease to be assembled and disassembled, making it easy to replace any parts for maintenance purposes or leaving room and flexibility for updates to the crystalline design in the future to adapt to the everchanging climatic needs.

Another case study, “Tubular Retrofitting” by Daniel Rodriguez Mora, applied the logic of plant tropisms, specifically tight curves, and spirals, as seen in the fiddlehead of an ostrich fern, into 3D digital design and fabrication as a way for human wearables and building skins to similarly adapt and create structural rigidity equipping it for its changing environment.

Plant adaptations to the external environment demonstrate the ability of living systems to react and undergo structural modifications to ensure survival. In nature, the fiddlehead of a Matteuccia Struthiopteris, commonly known as the “ostrich fern”, is a clump-form that, over time, unfurls and erects a tight mass into a larger and feathery plant. This morphological change is a useful example of plant plasticity to adapt to a changing context. Given the rapidly changing environmental challenges today, there is an urgent need for the world to become more environmentally conscious of how our design decisions affect the built and natural environment. By the same analogy, building facades can be thought of as “jackets” and “skins” that must evolve and morph to help a building better perform in a changing environment, prolong its durability, and excel its performance.

This design is replicating the furled and unfurled fiddlehead of a fern to analyze how the apertures and junctures of its structure can perform in a field. Large aperture or gaps within the tubes allow for heavy light to protrude. At the same time, a high density of tubes also forms large clumps where no light goes through and instead, the tubes house mechanical and ventilation systems. This effect helps create a cool ambience where filtered natural air ventilates through the tubed facade and replaces heavy and expensive artificial cooling systems. The thickness of the envelope protects from excessive light into the building. As tubes get really thin above, they begin to perform as kinetic structures which move in the air and harvest ventilation into the building.

The hollow tubes of the façade design serve as ducting to transport air, water, and electricity through the building. As technology evolves over time and new systems begin to make their way into architecture, this facade system could easily house these unpredictable systems in their very own tubes making installation and deinstallation easy and possible.

Finally, the third case study listed here, “Rhythmic Scales” by Yuzhou Wang, explores a fascinating concept that draws inspiration from the delicate scales on butterfly wings, aiming to create a new lightweight double-skin facade. The proposed design not only minimizes its impact on the original building facade but also provides solar protection and optimized views through the manipulation of scale rotation and angles. Leveraging 3D fabric printing techniques, the envisioned approach enables the creation of intricate patterns on wire meshes, which are then attached to the building facade.

In complex ecosystems, organisms have an amazing instinct to adapt to their natural environment by adopting different mechanisms. Butterflies are admired for their attractive wings, which are an important medium to adapt to their natural environment. In this study, abstract petal forms were extracted from butterfly wings by studying the environmental adaptation mechanisms of different patterns and used as a library of materials to be applied in subsequent design exercises. The natural forms were simulated and digitally created through 3D technology. In the design process, the organization of these patterns was used in an algorithm to address the complexity of the architectural and ecological environment.

The butterfly responds to sunlight and temperature through the arrangement and rotation of its setae. A butterfly that lives in alpine regions has its wing surface covered with a layer of fine scales. When the sun shines directly on the butterfly’s body and the temperature rises, these scales will automatically open to reduce the angle of sunlight, and absorption of sunlight; when the external temperature drops, these scales will close again, so that the sunlight shines directly on the scales and the butterfly absorbs more energy from them. In this way, the butterfly can control its body temperature. Solar radiation is one of the key elements that buildings need to respond to their surroundings. On the one hand, daylight provides the light source for the building’s interior, and the building’s electrical energy consumption is directly related to the interior light. On the other hand, solar radiation is the main way for buildings to gain heat, which is one of the important elements of green building design research and is directly related to the building’s thermal environment energy consumption. The sun transmits heat directly or indirectly to the building envelope through electromagnetic radiation, which profoundly affects the internal and external heat exchange process and air conditioning energy consumption of the building.

The integration of biomimetic principles into architectural design has paved the way for innovative solutions that blend functionality, sustainability, and aesthetic appeal. The concept of a lightweight double-skin facade inspired by the intricate scales on butterfly wings offers a promising approach to address the challenges of solar exposure and energy consumption. By utilizing 3D fabric printing techniques, architects can bring this vision to life, creating a dynamic and responsive facade that balances solar protection and unobstructed views.

The proposed design approach focuses on a lightweight double-skin facade, combining functionality and aesthetics. The inner layer remains the primary facade, preserving the building’s original appearance and structural integrity. The outer layer, inspired by butterfly wing scales, consists of wire meshes onto which intricate patterns are 3D printed using fabric printing techniques. This wire mesh, attached to the building facade, create a secondary layer that acts as a shield against direct sunlight, reducing solar exposure and mitigating heat gain.

Conclusion:

Each of the twelve case studies which were researched during the “Fit for the Future” design studio showcased individual approaches of integrating the methodologies and design techniques into speculative retrofit façade applications. The outcomes visualized innovative approaches towards 3D printing modular systems for lightweight façades to replace or add on to existing building facades. Additive manufacturing is a sustainable fabrication technique which opens new opportunities for utilizing recycled and biodegradable building materials in construction. Due to the lightweight materials and the customization possibilities, the façade modules can be quickly produced and are easy to be replaced, which offers quick repairs and adaptation. Like wearables which are fitted for different seasons and enable us to be protected our bodies from different temperatures, the idea to design Jackets for buildings is novel and leaves a lot of space for future innovation. In a time where climate is changing and adapting constant it is herewith demonstrated the 3D printing technology and digital design approach enables unique opportunities to improve the building envelope performance of existing buildings.

The “Fit for the Future, Sustainable 3D printed building Facades” Research Studio was supported by the Charles Moore Travel Grant provided by UCLA, School of Arts and Architecture, Department of Architecture and Urban Design in 2022/23.

The following graduates of 2023 contributed to this research: Blake Hannah​, Bryan Tyler​, Chen Sandra Ren Shan​, Cuevas Striekwold Miguel Stijn​, He Leyi​, He Xueqi​, Jiang Yi​, Long Lufeng​, Qiu Rui​, Rodriguez Daniel​, Wang Yuzhou​, Yang Frank

Special thanks to selected guest lecturers and critics:
Andreas Körner, Assistant Professor at University of Innsbruck
Isabelle Hens, Environmental Designer at Atelier Ten
Sophie Pennetier, Associate Director - Special Projects, ENCLOS
Kais Al-Rawi, Associate Director at Eckersley O’Callaghan’s Los Angeles office
Manuel Jimenez Garcia, co-founder, and CEO of Nagami
Melodie Yashar, VP of Building Design & Performance at ICON
Sofia Hagen, co-founder, and director of HagenHinderdael

Photography by Photographer Sarah M. Golonka

Drawings by Graduate Students UCLA, AUD
Blake Hannah
Bryan Tyler
Chen Sandra Ren Shan
Cuevas Striekwold Miguel Stijn
He Leyi
He Xueqi
Jiang Yi
Long Lufeng
Qiu Rui
Rodriguez Daniel
Wang Yuzhou
Yang Frank