Fluttering Facade

One of my favorite memories of summer is laying in my warm bed, watching rain filter through the forest canopy after a rainstorm outside my window. When we were asked to develop an innovative wall assembly in pairs, my partner and I chose to create a facade that would respond to wind and rain in a similar way, giving the impression of a fluttering facade mimicking the summer leaves and showing the weather. The shingles are set at an angle to give the hint of overlapping and obscure the strong grid pattern they would otherwise create. For the interior, we specified Bonded Logic denim insulation and flannel cloth walls to create a warm interior, sheltered from the weather outside. Even when pulled taut, the flannel looks soft, inviting inhabitants to touch the walls, discovering the soft cushy insulation.

The shingles are made of two shingles glued to a coupling nut at a 30° angle and then threaded onto a zinc rod. The coupling nut allows rotation, and the threads prevent lateral movement. These are then set into eyelets drilled into the main structure. Copper sheets are screwed on top of the rain barrier, reflecting little flashes of light as the shingles move. The vapor barrier and the structure were designed to be non-specific so that this facade could be applied to any number of buildings and structural systems. Inside, the Bonded Logic insulation is installed and held behind a cloth mesh to hold it in place. Flannel panels are pre-fabricated, and then bolted to the structural frame—this allows easy cleaning of the panels, dis-assembly, and ability to change the graphics for events if need be.