Chuck Hoberman's Buildings Adapt to the Environment

You could reasonably argue that in Chuck Hoberman's book of virtues, flexibility would be number one. The latest mission for the transformable-design guru -- who has created everything from huge collapsible domes to a giant expandable video screen for U2 -- is the Adaptive Building Initiative (ABI), an effort to equip big buildings everywhere with skins that move. "If a building can change, it can respond to the environment and self-optimize," he says. His ABI cofounders at the engineering firm Buro Happold estimate that the facade of a building can account for more than half its energy use, depending on how it deals with heat and light. The ABI's new computer-controlled shading systems and glass sheaths with expandable frit patterns can boost a facade's energy efficiency by up to 20%.

via www.fastcompany.com