Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Architecture should go far beyond the exoped in the Spanish region of Cataisting urban infrastructure and the existlonia uses its natural ability to
ing heavy mortar systems, says Areabsorb water to provide
ti Markopoulou, a senior faculty
cooling without the use of
member on the project team.
electricity. Students and
Our idea was to figure out
faculty members at the
new construction systems
Institut dArquitectura Avanada
that would allow us to produce
de Catalunya have created a coma more responsive and adaptive
posite material made of clay and
architecture.
hydrogel that they say is
Research on the project
capable of lowering inbegan last summer as part of
door temperatures withthe Institut dArquitectura
in a short period.
Avanada de Catalunyas
The material, a hydrocerammasters program in architecic, features two layers of clay that
ture. Markopoulou serves as the
encase evenly spaced beads of
senior faculty member of the rehydrogel. The beads are exsearch team, which also includes
posed by virtue of openings
the students Elena Mitrofanova,
in the clays outer surface, enabling
Akanksha Rathee, and Pong Santhem to absorb water and moisture,
tayanon. Moritz Begle and Alexanand the subsequent evaporadre Dubor serve as assistants.
tive cooling can help to lower
The proposed passive cooling
energy costs.
system combines the qualities
Researchers say that the faof claya low-cost construccade material could reduce a buildtion material whose natural
ings air-conditioning costs by as much
porosity lends itself to cooling
as 28 percent and that its relatively inexpenand the benefits of a synthetic hydrosive components make it suitable for widespread
gel that is capable of absorbing and retaining
use. They contend that such smart malarge amounts of moisture. Made by
terials can greatly improve building Hydrogel beads sandwiched between clay sur- hand, the prototype clay tiles comperformance by responding to changing faces absorb water, and the subsequent evap- prise two layers, a flat inner layer and a
atmospheric conditions.
orative cooling can lower energy costs.
contoured perforated outer layer. The
T H E I N S T I T U T E F O R A D V A N C E D A R C H I T E C T U R E O F C ATA L O N I A , M A A 2 0 1 3 / 1 4 , H Y D R O C E R A M I C , B O T H
[36] C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g M A R C H 2 0 1 5
ce0315p36-39.indd 36
2/26/15 4:38 PM
TIMBER PILE
UPLIFT ANCHORS
Advanced Uplift
Resistance Anchors
Our TP-807 timber
anchors are made from
TUFLOY cast steel
(90 ksi tensile, 60 ksi
yield) and are galvanized.
Quick assembly in the
field with just holes
drilled through the pile.
DFP casts integral teeth
into each uplift anchor
to provide extra bite
into the timber pile.
TP-337
MARCH 2015
C i v i l E n g i n e e r i n g [37]