BUILDING

CONSTRUCTION
KINETIC FAÇADE

CHIITRAKSHII DAHIYA
160BARCHI171
SEMESTER 7
YEAR 4
SUSHANT SCHOOL OF ART &
ARCHITECTURE
INDEX
INTRODUCTION

DESIGN CONCEPT

PROGRAM & CIRCULATION

KINETIC FAÇADE

CLIMATE

STRUCTURE
INTRODUCTION foyer and become a flexible stage for the
„Best Practice Area“.
The Thematic Pavilion is a major and
permanent building for the Expo 2012
in Yeosu, South-Korea. soma’s design
proposal was selected as the first prize
winner in an open international
architecture competition.

The main design intent was to embody

the Expo’s theme “The Living Ocean and
Coast” and transform it into a multi-
layered architectural experience.
Therefore the Expo’s agenda, namely
the responsible use of natural resources
was not visually represented, but
actually embedded into the building
through the sustainable climate design Continuous transitions between
or the biomimetic approach of the contrasting experiences also form the
kinetic façade. outer appearance of the Pavilion.
Towards the sea the conglomeration of
solid vertical cones define a new
meandering coast line, a soft edge that is
in constant negotiation between water
and land. Opposite side the pavilion
develops out of the ground into an
artificial roof–landscape with gardens
and scenic paths. The topographic lines
of the roof turn into lamellas of the
DESIGN CONCEPT kinetic media façade that faces the
We experience the Ocean mainly in two Expo’s entrance and the “Digital
ways, as an endless surface and in an Gallery”.
immersed perspective as depth. This
plain/profound duality of the Ocean
PROGRAM & CIRCULATION
motivates the building’s spatial and
organizational concept. Continuous
surfaces twist from vertical to
horizontal orientation and define all
significant interior spaces. The vertical
cones invite the visitor to immerse into
the Thematic Exhibition. They evolve
into horizontal levels that cover the
The main entrance is situated on Ocean
Plaza, which is partly covered by the
pavilion to achieve a shaded outdoor
waiting area. The space boundaries of
the open foyer are defined by the
twisting surfaces of the cones.
ENTRY
The interstitial spaces between them
frame the view onto the Ocean and
create niches for the visitors to take a
pause from the exhibition. The sequence
of pre-show, main show and post show
is spatially modulated: Lingering
through the first two small cones with a
ceiling height of 6m people arrive at the
main show, an breath-taking 20 meter
high space of 1000sqm. After the show
people arrive again at the lower and
more intimate post-show that leads to
the café and a swimming island in the
open water, where they can relax and
experience the movement of the Ocean.
Visitors with a deeper interest can take
the escalator to the second level, where
the Best Practice Area, an open, flexible
day-lit space is located. Here institutions
will present their research in fields like
renewable energies or marine
technology.
From the foyer or the Best Practice
Area visitors can take stairs or lifts up to
the roof top garden. The roof-landscape
functions as a third exhibition area,
which invites people to relax and enjoy
a 360-degree view over the Expo site.
Roof gardens will be covered with
plants of the local coast. To leave the
pavilion people stroll down a
meandering ramp with panoramic views
onto the surrounding Ocean and the
islands.
KINETIC FAÇADE
The kinetic media façade is an integral
part of the Thematic Pavilion, a major
and permanent building for the Expo Korean coast, the façade will be closed
2012 in Yeosu, South-Korea which was and locked automatically
designed by SOMA Architecture, Vienna.

. For the different open positions

pressure values were derived from wind
tunnel tests. Within the operational
mode the louvers are individually
actuated and create animated patterns
along the façade. The potential
choreography ranges from subtle
localized movement to waves patterns
moving over the whole elevation of the
façade.

NOTE: MATERIAL (GFRP)

GFRP is a material that combines high
tensile strength with low bending
stiffness, which allows large reversible
elastic deformations. This material
belongs to the group of fibre reinforces
composites, which are being used in the
The facade is 140 m long and between 3 building industry from recently. Because
and 13m high. It consists of 108 kinetic this is a new material there exist only
GFRP louvers, which are supported at very minimal, incomplete, and
the top and bottom edge by fixed uneconomic calculation rules for
supports on one corner and extendable application. Therefore, a combined
actuators on the other corner. These concept of calculation had to be applied.
actuators push the upper and lower
edges together and lead to an elastic
bending and a side rotation of the GFRP
element. The 13-metre-long louvers are
only 9 mm thick and are stiffened at
both longitudinal edges with a 200 mm
rib and a 30 mm rib including a hard
rubber buffer bar. The rubber bar
protects the GFRP material in the closed
state, when one louver rests on the
other. In very strong wind conditions
which occasionally occur at the South

The operable louvers fulfil a climatic
function and allow different modes of
operation depending on the user’s
needs. Within the operation mode the
louvers are individually actuated and
create animated patterns along the
façade. The potential choreography
ranges from subtle local motion to
overall waves affecting the whole length
of the façade.
CLOSED LOUVER
OPEN LOUVER
After sunset the analogue visual effect of
the moving louvers is intensified by
linear LED bars, which are located at the
inner side of the front edge of the
louver. When open the LED can
illuminate the next louver depending on
the angle at which it is opened.
Continuous GFRP flanges minimize the
amount of light (artificial and natural)
that enters when in the closed position
Beside their function to control light
conditions in the foyer and the Best
Practice Area the moving the lamellas
create animated patterns on the façade.
The choreography will span from subtle
local movements to overall waves
affecting the whole length of the
building. The architectural intention
was to produce a choreography and
imagery out of the building’s own layers,
without displaying any further media
“content”. After sunset the analogue
visual effect of the moving lamellas is
intensified by linear LED bars, which are
located at the inner side of the front
edge of the lamella. In opened position
the LED can light the neighbouring
lamella depending on the opening angle.
Although movement is intrinsic to any
media facade, architecture is usually
considered as the stable, immobile
background for it. By involving real
movement the kinetic facade aims to
unify those usually isolated layers of
architecture and media and define it as
an interrelated and inseparable three-
dimensional experience. Instead of
communicating “content” the kinetic
facade adds an atmospheric layer to the
Thematic Pavilion that is based on
subtle effects or “mood”. The
choreography will rely on abstract
patterns of colour, different speeds of
movement, or variation in the angles of
opening and closing.
MOVEMENT

The louvers are moved by actuators
located on both the upper and lower
edge, inducing compression forces to
create the complex elastic deformation
They reduce the distance between the
two bearings and in this way induce a
bending which results in a side rotation
of the louver The actuator of the louvers
is a screw spindle driven by a
servomotor. A computer controlled bus-
system allows the synchronisation of
the actuators. Each louver can be
addressed individually within a specific
logic of movement to show different
choreographies and operation modes
The operation system requires feedback
information from the electric servo
motors regarding the actual position of
the louvers and can be linked to
internet. This allows uploading
movement scenarios and information
about façade condition to be sent to a
maintenance company. Upper and lower
motors often work with opposite power
requirements (driving – braking).
Therefore generated energy can be fed
back into the local system to save
energy.
LOAD ASSUMPTIONS / WIND
TUNNEL TESTS
The facade had to be designed for very
high wind speeds of up to 35m/s
occurring on the South Korean coast
under Typhoon conditions. The wind
loads were derived from wind tunnel
tests in order to achieve a safe and
economic design of the louvers. Besides
this realistic assessment of the local
peak wind pressures acting on the
louvers, the aerodynamic stability had
to be determined, since slender or large
spanned structures with a low stiffness
tend to wind induced instabilities .
The operational concept based on the
aforementioned studies basically
identifies two different situations: As
long as the wind is less than 12m/s (6
Beaufort) the façade can operate. If the
wind is stronger than 12m/s the façade
will automatically close and pretension
will be applied by pre-stressing the
weak edge accordingly to increasing
wind loads.
The foyer and the Best Practice Area are
naturally ventilated. Therefore the
interstitial spaces between the cones are
orientated towards the prevailing wind
direction. In the large vertical
exhibitions, air will be infused through
the floor, to reduce the amount of
conditioned volume. During daytime the
kinetic lamellas are used to control solar
input. They will be operated by energy
gained through solar panels on the roof.
The building’s performance was
analysed in detailed simulations to
reduce energy consumption and
increase efficiency.

PERFORMANCE MOCK-UP TESTS

Overall structural behaviour of the
smallest and largest louvers
respectively has been tested within a
full scale performance mock-up test. In
order to consider the stiffness and
determine the influence on the overall
load deflection behaviour, the louvers
have been attached to a steel sub-
structure consisting of steel hollow
sections
Within a time period of 35 consecutive
days, the louvers have been operated
successfully.

CLIMATE

STRUCTURE
The different appearances of the
building – open towards the Expo site
and compact towards the sea- is also
routed in the constraints of the site.
Facing the open sea the reinforced
concrete cones prevent the pavilion
from damage through typhoons and
high waves. The roof and the kinetic
façade will have a steel sub-structure.
The kinetic façade will be produced out
of FRP and uses the material
characteristics and flexibility for its
mode of operation.