Gearfuse Technology, Science, Culture & More
When it comes to futuristic technology buildings are one of the most impressive mediums of displaying this type of technology. Today we’re checking out a new bionic material that allows buildings to open and close like flowers that bloom.
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Flectofin is a material based upon the Bird of Paradise flower. The material has been around for approximately a year and just received the first ever Gips-Schüle Research Prize. The way that Flectofin works when implemented in building structures is that it functions as a façade shading system and swings open and closed based on the position of louvers that are attached to a bendable rod. Turning the louver downward bends the rod and opens the Flectofin surface, while turning the louvers up straightens the rod out which swings the Flectofin closed. Sure, a little more work than the automatic closing and opening of the flowers in nature, but a pretty neat concept all the same.
The Theme Pavilion in Yeosu, South Korea is an example of Flectofin in action and was built by Vienna-based Soma architecture. The Pavilion might be the only large scale implementation of Flectofin in action at the moment but it’s sure to implemented on a larger scale in the near future and we can’t wait to see what comes out of it!
