| Description | ABSTRACT: When you think of large-scale structures, the adjectives that come to mind are probably: stiff, solid, static and strong. In recent years, researchers and architects alike have tried to flip the script and have explored concepts of structures that are adaptive, capable of undergoing large shape changes and extremely flexible. To a person working in this field like me, it would seem just natural to draw inspiration from the incredible advances in shape-morphing systems at the tabletop- and micro-scales to realize innovative large-scale morphing structures. However, the upscaling of these ideas is often impeded by the fact that specific designs only work with a specific material companion. In this talk, I will show you three examples of morphing systems I worked with, and I will illustrate the challenges related to upscaling each one of these three ideas. I will start from flat, architected rubber sheets that can pop-up into 3D dome-like surfaces. I will show you how this apparently-unscalable system can inspire more conventional large-scale deployables. I will then show you a remarkable example of “structural mechanics meets materials science”: a ribbon-based design that is made possible by the amazing properties of bulk metallic glass. Finally, I will show you some results on environmentally-triggered morphing structures, and I will discuss the need for novel stimuli-responsive structural materials. |
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