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Unobtainium

The Future Envelope 9 – Conference on Building Envelopes
Faculty of Architecture TU Delft (NL)
Thursday, 18 June 2015


Unobtainium is a material or technology which is perfectly suited for a particular application, except that it does not yet exist or is extremely costly or difficult to obtain. Unobtainium is the answer to many technological and architectural challenges. What type of new materials will allow new functionalities embed in building envelopes? Which technologies will lead to more efficient and durable construction details? What concepts or systems will lead to energy savings and higher comfort? During the ninth edition of the annual conference, international speakers from the disciplines of project development, material technology, façade design, and architecture will share their experience and visions of the future building envelope.

Preliminary Program
8:30 Registration
9:00 Opening speech | Ulrich Knaack / TU Delft, NL
9:15 Introduction | Bert Lieverse / VMRG, NL

9:30 – 11:00 Session 1 – Engineering Challenge
Stefan Goeddertz / Herzog & de Meuron, CH
Philippe Willareth / Dr. Lüchinger+Meyer Bauingenieure AG, CH
Thomas Henriksen / Waagner-Biro, AT

11:30 – 13:00 Session 2 – New Transparency
Albert Schenning / TU Eindhoven, NL
Paulo Cruz / University of Minho, PT
Jens Schneider / TU Darmstadt, DE

14:00 – 15:30 Session 3 – Future Materials
Samuel Schabel / TU Darmstadt, DE
Anne-Mette Manelius / Danish Technological Institute, DK
Holger Techen / Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, DE

16:00 – 17:30 Session 4 – Demand through Design
Marcel Bilow / TU Delft, NL
Sacha Silvester / TU Delft, NL
Eulho Suh / SUH Architects, KR

17:30 - Discussion

The conference is divided into four sessions, each followed by a discussion. Close contact with the audience is a firm part of the concept. 


Session 1 – Engineering Challenge
9:30 – 11:00 Session 1 – Engineering Challenge
We can define engineering as a way to apply knowledge in order to invent or design machines, devices and, in our context, building envelopes. This makes engineering a crucial method to realise yet unobtainable concepts.
Stefan Goeddertz is associate at Herzog & de Meuron, where he is in charge of envelope design. He presents the unconventional architectural designs of the company, which in many cases have been realised with unconventional and surprising use of technologies.
Philippe Willareth is facade engineer. He will elaborate on the process of translating concept designs into functioning facade constructions by using designing, testing and engineering methods.
The Metal Glass building company Waagner-Biro is known for their highly engineered metal-glass roofs and facades. Thomas Henriksen will talk about his efforts to continuously ´push the envelope´ when realising projects. The challenge lies in integrating design, structural integrity, safety and financial aspects. The knowledge is carefully managed to allow taking the next step into new constructions.

11:30 – 13:00 Session 2 – New Transparency
Transparency is still a fundamental element describing the qualities of the building envelope. Especially in the field of glass surfaces we can expect ground-breaking new developments. We have invited three experts to highlight this topic.
Paulo J.S. Cruz is coordinator of the Laboratory of Construction and Technology. The lab aims at exploring innovative technological, constructional and structural solutions.
Jens Schneider is specialised in structural mechanics of glass & polymers, glass & facade structures, probabilistic design and structural dynamics supported by microwave-interferometry.
Albert Schenning is a distinguished researcher on functional organic materials at TU Eindhoven. Currently he is involved in a cooperation project with TU Delft to investigate the performance of new adaptive LC coatings on glass surfaces as well as architectural façade surfaces.

14:00 – 15:30 Session 3 – Future Materials
There has never been a shortage of visionary materials with a new set of properties. An example is Scotty from the USS Enterprise in the 60ies, announcing the invention of transparent aluminium. We have seen new real materials emerging such as aerogel and PCM´s. Three speakers will focus on the translation of those materials into safely performing building materials and components:
With a background in process engineering and fluid mechanics, Samuel Schabel`s main fields of research today are paper recycling, recyclability of paper products, environmental aspects of paper technology and paper as a basis for innovative materials. Exemplary, he shows how materials development is promoted.
Anne-Mette Manelius from the Danish Technological Institute works with ideation and profiling activities in the material labs of the division of Building & Construction. Her work on fabric forming stimulates new possibilities for the use of concrete.
Holger Techen from Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences is a specialist in structural engineering. He demonstrates the new use of concrete, composite materials and plastics in building envelopes through extraordinary architectural projects.

16:00 – 17:30 Session 4 – Demand through Design
By combining functional requirements, user needs and architectural ambitions, design often creates a new demand for technological solutions. On the other hand technological possibilities can stimulate new design possibilities. This field of tension drives innovation in the architectural world.
Marcel Bilow will present his approach with the ’BuckyLab’. This famous prototyping laboratory generates a constant stream of new facade concepts which have won numerous prizes. Marcel Bilow has the ability to scout new and innovative directions by designing impressive mock-ups.
From the Faculty of Industrial Design, Sacha Silvester´s research background is on system innovations and product service systems related to design for sustainability. Since recently he is involved in research on the user-aspects of sustainable and energy-neutral building.
Suh Architects is one of Korea’s top design companies. Eulho Suh’s project ’Habitats’ works in the area between art and architecture. The delicate use of high-tech textiles gives an idea about what the unobtainable envelope might look like in architectural terms.

 

Organisation

Unobtainium is organised by the Facade Research Group, TU Delft in cooperation with the University of Bath and the European Façade Network (EFN)

For more information go to:
http://www.bk.tudelft.nl/over-faculteit/afdelingen/architectural-engineering-and-technology/organisatie/ontwerp-van-bouwconstructies/conferenties/the-future-envelope-9/