A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Second Skin:Exploring bioclimate wrapping for climate-resilient housing in Australia
Second Skin (aka. FlaxWing) is a research project that focuses on the possibilities of a more climate responsive architectural approach. Via concepts of adaptation, we consider the social and technical reuse of existing building stock; the transformation of prevailing construction practices via the uptake of bio-based and low-carbon building materials; and the very adaptation of buildings themselves in response to environmental and occupant influences enacted via cyber-physical systems. Our research is situated by designs, visualisations, and prototypes of a second skin, which transforms an existing residential building in Canberra, albeit with a view to expand its deployment to other new and old buildings both here and in other parts of Australia. It is, however, not intended to be read as an architectural project, rather, it employs an architectural scenario as a way of positioning questions that span material research, computational design and fabrication, and machine control. Second Skin is a collocation of multiple research trajectories within a speculative retrofit scenario, and while each trajectory may be nascent, collectively, they highlight the many ways that architecture can contribute to a decarbonised built environment.
Second Skin:Exploring bioclimate wrapping for climate-resilient housing in Australia
Second Skin (aka. FlaxWing) is a research project that focuses on the possibilities of a more climate responsive architectural approach. Via concepts of adaptation, we consider the social and technical reuse of existing building stock; the transformation of prevailing construction practices via the uptake of bio-based and low-carbon building materials; and the very adaptation of buildings themselves in response to environmental and occupant influences enacted via cyber-physical systems. Our research is situated by designs, visualisations, and prototypes of a second skin, which transforms an existing residential building in Canberra, albeit with a view to expand its deployment to other new and old buildings both here and in other parts of Australia. It is, however, not intended to be read as an architectural project, rather, it employs an architectural scenario as a way of positioning questions that span material research, computational design and fabrication, and machine control. Second Skin is a collocation of multiple research trajectories within a speculative retrofit scenario, and while each trajectory may be nascent, collectively, they highlight the many ways that architecture can contribute to a decarbonised built environment.
Second Skin:Exploring bioclimate wrapping for climate-resilient housing in Australia
LOUW, Mike (author) / FARRAH, Sally (author) / Maxwell, Iain (author) / TOMKINS, Sam (author)
2025-03-05
LOUW , M , FARRAH , S , Maxwell , I & TOMKINS , S 2025 , ' Second Skin : Exploring bioclimate wrapping for climate-resilient housing in Australia ' Swayn Open Research , pp. 1-52 . < https://alastairswaynfoundation.org/research/second-skin-aka-flaxwing >
Miscellaneous
Electronic Resource
English
Understanding global climate change scenarios through bioclimate stratification
| DOAJ | 2017
Regional analysis of climate and bioclimate change in South Italy
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006
Analysis of thermal bioclimate in various urban configurations in Athens, Greece
| Online Contents | 2012
Difference Bioclimate Response in Traditional Dwelling in Venezuelan Andes
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 1994