Towards Refining Bio-Inspired Hydro-Actuated Building Facades by Emphasising the Importance of Hybrid Adaptability

Raheleh Khosromanesh ()
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Raheleh Khosromanesh: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YB, UK

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-22

Abstract: In anticipation of the growing demand for energy efficiency, research is underway on the advancement of the next generation of bio-inspired adaptive systems for multi-stimuli-responsive building envelopes. At this point, it is vital to perceive how materials are altered by various stimuli. To address this challenge, I conceptualise the following question: how can hydro-actuated systems become multi-responsive systems through combining bio-responsive mechanisms? To begin to imagine these actuators, I take inspiration from bio-inspired mechanisms to chart viable avenues/principles that can lead to scalable applications. Hydro-actuated facades can help decrease energy consumption in buildings because of the advantage of using bio-inspired materials and smart mechanisms derived from natural phenomena that occur on the scale of plants or animals. Most hydro-actuated facades are restricted in terms of their responses to a single stimulus, which makes them ineffective for building envelopes due to their inability to respond to other stimuli. The main aim of this study is to define challenges concerning hydro-actuated facades and develop principles to create a multi-stimuli-responsive system that senses and actuates passively. In this regard, by introducing a strategy of combining natural mechanisms in the context of architectural envelopes, this paper presents extra insight into the connection between building facades and environmental mechanisms.

Keywords: water-responsive (WR) actuators; multi-stimuli (MS)-responsive mechanisms; hydro-actuated building envelopes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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