Moving Parts

Moving parts:

Informed by my architectural theory:

"Designed complexity and functional sustainability serve as a radical lens, through which students should counterbalance their pre-existing notions of traditionalism".



I felt that the moving parts should contribute to the university in both a "practical" and "sustainable" manner in order to be a considered change to the 'traditional' campus. Hence both moving parts not only make for a sustainable addition to the campus by acting as renewable energy sources, but they also make working on campus more functional.

Kinetic sculpture/wind turbines:

Inspired by Phillip Price's large scale, wind-activated kinetic sculpture "Tree of Life" my moving part would take things a step further and integrate a renewable energy capability, by harnessing the power of wind energy. I noticed when walking down the main walkway that lower campus was very windy and the trees weren't providing enough wind block along the walkway. To make use of this along with Catherine's advice I turned to kinetic sculptures and wind energy and created a hybrid design which utilised both.

• From my research on wind turbines, I uncovered that I need 3 propeller-like blades around the rotor, so my design accommodates that requirement.

• The use of carbon fibre composite construction allows for synergy between form and kinetic functionality. 

• The lightweight yet durable structure is suitable for urban environments as it ensures safety in the installation of large sculptures.

This gif illustrates how the kinetic sculptures/wind turbines would operate under the force provided by the wind and would operate regardless of the direction of the wind, which is a benefit of having the propellers spin about a y-axis pivot rather than a 'traditional' x-axis pivot point.

                     

• The benefit of this design is that the energy produced from this turbine/sculpture would help power many electrical devices and help power the lighting and heating on campus.

Protruding solar panelled facade/ indoor seating area:

Another potential energy source I noticed on the lower campus was the vast amount of uninterrupted sunlight hitting the taller buildings from the north for a large portion of the day. This I felt could be harnessed and hence became the premise of this moving part.



From this SunCalc app I understood the sun-facing directions and positioned my solar panels such that I could optimise the sun hitting the panels.

• This gif illustrates the benefit of having panels rather than a moving wall so that you can decide when to produce these faces and how much to protrude them by.

                      

• The panels are on this face and on the other face even when the sun is setting, it will still be facing the sun.

For the practical component of this moving part, I felt that this protruding facade would introduce some extra space which I partition into compartments, where people can eat and sit while waiting for their lecture to start. From personal experience, I was sick of having to stand around while the previous lecture was finishing and being constricted of space when everyone got out.

Hence this moving element resolves both the practical and sustainability concern of large lecture theatres which consume a large amount of electrical power and are constricted of space in the common areas.