Hydroformed Shading
A Calibrated Approach to Solar Control
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Overview
Abstract
New approaches to lightweight metal forming have the potential to advance architectural fabrication, particularly in the design and engineering of high-performance building envelopes. For the Harvard Science and Engineering Complex outside Boston, Behnisch Architekten, together with Knippers Helbig, applied a novel application of metal shaped by water in the world’s first hydroformed tensile facade system.
Hydroforming is an industrial cold forming process in which a metal blank is driven into a single mold with hydraulic pressure to form extremely thin parts with exceptional structural stiffness. It has been developed and advanced primarily by the automotive and aerospace industries—where weight to strength ratio has a compound effect on production cost, safety, performance, and energy consumption. Despite parallel considerations, it has not been widely used in architectural applications.
The Harvard screen facade was developed through a rigorous research process to apply hydroforming in a sun shading system that leverages the advantages of this technology, namely lower tooling costs, precise geometric definition, and superior structural properties. Calibrated to the extreme seasonal variations of the New England climate, the system is optimized to temper solar heat gain in the summer while maximizing daylight and solar energy in the winter. The screen is comprised of a series of 12,800 hydroformed panels of 1.5 mm thick (16 gauge) stainless steel, measuring 2.5 x 2.5 ft, each weighing under 10 pounds. The panels are supported by an ultra-lightweight tensile structure with a cross sectional area of just 0.35 in2. Despite its delicate appearance, the shading screen is a crucial component in the comprehensive energy strategy of the new academic building, which opens in 2020.
Authors
Michelle Siu-Ching Lee
Architect
Behnish Architekten
research@behnisch.com
Robert Matthew Noblett
Partner
Behnish Architekten
rmn@behnisch.com
Roman Schieber
Associate Director
Knippers Helbig GmbH
R.Schieber@knippershelbig.com
Keywords
Introduction
At 535,000 sf, the Harvard Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) unifies and expands multiple science and engineering disciplines in a new centralized location in Allston, Massachusetts. As the primary home
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Background
The sun shading system for the Harvard SEC emerges from the synthesis of three topics that have been widely researched employed in architecture, engineering and manufacturing but rarely combined simultaneously
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Methods and Data
Screen Performance Testing
Because of the uniqueness of the design, several specialized full-scale tests were conducted to validate assumptions and test unknowns.
Dynamic Test
During design and engineering of the external screen, the
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Construction and Maintenance
The screen panels and the tensile components are engineered and fabricated in Germany, and shipped to the site and installed by Permasteelisa North America under Turner Construction. The off-cuts from
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Conclusion
The sun shading screen of Harvard University’s Science and Engineering Complex demonstrates the unique potential of hydroforming technology to create high performance, lightweight, and structurally stiff components. The ability of
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Acknowledgements
Behnisch Architekten: Stefan Behnisch, Michael Cook, Magdalena Czolnowska, Daniel Mazur
Knippers Helbig: Nicola Haberbosch
Josef Gartner: Klaus Reuschle, Reiner Haselmeier, Günter Muller
Edelstahl Mechanik: Philipp Eisele
Transsolar: Linda Lam, Erik Olsen
Turner Construction: James Riley, Tiago Pimentel
Harvard University: Alyssa Hubbard, Joe O'Farrell
Rights and Permissions
References
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Photos by Janis Roykalns, Roman Schieber, and Christopher Karlson.