a lot more than stress and productivity

Tonight has been the most fun and the most productive night I have taken part in this semester. I have been learning from my peers to CALM down and stress slightly less, which has been a huge development, both for my sanity and for my effectiveness. I have come to the conclusion that we all care about the project and no one is going to let it fail (at least without giving it all they can), and this makes me confident. Our group had some issues from day one, and have made slow progress. Our ideas were very broad, there was an overflow of different ways to solve the same problem, while the problem continued to change, leaving everyone, often very confused. Our communication got much better by the second week and things did become together.

We decided to build our prototype using air instead of water, however, water is not to be forgotten when discussing further applications. We wanted to transform a 2D surface into a 3D form in accordance to the amount of sunlight available. When the LDR senses a lot of light, the bubbles will begin to inflate, focusing the light in order to increase temperature. When the flex sensor finds that the bubble is completely inflated, the input will turn off. Ideally we could replace this with a sensor testing for temperature, and once the water reached a high enough temperature, it would be released and circulated through the building- or where ever these cells were placed. It works similarly, with minor differences when substituting air for water, etc.














Although by last night, we probably all should have been extremely stressed out (or I thought thats how I should feel), everyone was extremely laid back and in good spirits. We laughed a lot and worked really well together until we were all pleased, and we could confidently say goodnight, wander to the dud, and get in a crowded BUT FREE cab home.

heliotrophic part 2

Exhausted, from this week's project, my class hesitantly walks in, finding a seat, and hoping for some sort of break. The usual critique days of art school, allow one to rest on the day big assignments are due, however, we know better than to hope for such. We watched the groups present. This is always extremely interesting, and very laid back. Conversations occur, and questions arise and answers are given and discussed from all corners of the room.

This week was very interesting for me. My group was very laid back. I am generally programmed to be very stressed out and concerned about every little detail until it is done, functional, and has been presented, therefor having received a grade, and it is over. My group, however, was very calm through every piece of the planning, prototyping, problem solving, and even last minute repairs. This was extremely refreshing and overall, MUCH more productive.

From the get-go, we were aiming at bio-mimacry. Having done research on heliotrophic surfaces, I mostly came across articles discussing plants and nature. Sunflowers, are an incredible example of a heliotrophic organism, and our whole group came to look for inspiration in nature.

We wanted something different, and decided to bring other materials into our palette. We would use fabric and finger like pieces to create almost a skin. This would create a pleasing aesthetic, but would be incredible functional, as well. Three dowels with fingers would lay in a resting position, keeping the fabric that covered them impermeable. This, would allow for a greenhouse effect- where heat could be trapped within the "skin", reducing the need for heating. (Application-wise- we were thinking how this could be used in buildings, etc). When the sun would appear, the fingers would begin to open, stretching the material, and allowing the pores of the material to open and collect the sunlight (or rainwater if sensors were changed to read humidity). In doing this, the inside of the building could collect sunlight within its walls and or have the sunlight reach solar panels within the building, but only when the sun is present in the sky. Without the sun, the material traps the heat, and warms itself.

With relation to rain, the same could be true. With high humidity, this material could be stretched by the fingers, allowing the collection of rainwater to occur.

The aesthetic of this piece resulted in a very biologic, almost creepy contraption.