Jessica Hartwig
Being and architecture major and knitter, I’m interested in large scale interventions that use textiles or the logic of textiles. This also happens to be my thesis, the connection between the two. So here an example of a project that I’ve been inspired by lately:
The “Strawscraper” by Belatchew Arkitekter
This project proposes a building facade made from piezoelectric materials in a straw like form that blow in the wind and transform that movement into energy for the building. “The straws consist of a ceramic core with a flexible polymer cladding” and “What is usually considered to be the most static of all things, the building, suddenly comes alive and the construction gives the impression of a body that is breathing,” says Belatchew Labs’ official release.
What I find really interesting about the project is that it is taking a technology used in e-textiles and trying it at the scale of a building. The use of this system creates a new way of looking at an urban wind farm that is much more visually pleasing/interesting and seems much less harmful in terms of the surrounding wildlife. It also has the potential to be integrated into existing buildings or tunnels.