Living Glass

Beginning with the premise that architectural elements might move in response to the environment, the Living Glass project by David Benjamin and Soo-In Yang uses a shape memory alloy to open and close the surface like gills. To achieve this, they embedded Flexinol wires in cast silicone; the wires contract due to an electrical stimulus, causing gills to cut into the surface to open and close. With minor changes the system could be tuned for environmental control, detecting carbon dioxide in a room and in multiple grapefruit-sized zones, and “breathe” when levels are high. Here, movement promotes health by allowing air flow when needed, and it provides information by signaling a high carbon dioxide level, which is normally invisible.