In designing Bloom, the research team set out to create a zero-energy active façade. The team utilized thermobimetal (two layers of metal that react differently to heat) and created a pavilion covered in 414 tiles, each comprising bimetal tabs. When exposed to the sun, the tabs curl, providing both shading for the people inside and openings for hot air to vent. And while juror Martina Decker called the pavilion “a beautiful sculpture,” it was less the design than the research that really captivated the jury. “I find that material investigation to be interesting,” juror Gordon Gill said.
Project Credits
Project Bloom
Client Materials & Application—Jenna Didier, Oliver Hess (co-directors)
Primary Investigator Doris Kim Sung, Assoc. AIA (assistant professor, University of Southern California; principal, DOSU Studio Architecture)
Consultant Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, AIA (chair, Woodbury University; principal, WROAD)
Research and Design Assistants Dylan Wood (project manager);
Kristi Butterworth, Ali Chen, Renata Ganis, Derek Greene, Julia Michalski, Sayo Morinaga, Evan Shieh
Fabrication and Construction Assistants Dylan Wood, Garrett Helm, Derek Greene, Kelly Wong (core contributors); Manual Alcala, Eric Arm, Lily Bakhshi, Amr Basuony, Olivia Burke, Kristi Butterworth, Jesus Cabildo, Shu Cai, Ali Chen, Taylor Cornelson, Erin Cuevas, Matt Evans, Chris Flynn, Renata Ganis, Bryn Garrett, Ana Gharakh, Oliver Hess, David Hoffman, Alice Hovsepian, Casey Hughes, Ross Jeffries, Justin Kang, Syd Kato, Andrew Kim, Glen Kinoshita, Ingrid Lao, Jennifer MacLeod, Max Miller, Mark Montiel, Laura Ng, Robbie Nock, Raynald Pelletier, Elizabeth Perikli, Nelly Paz, Evan Shieh, Hector Solis, Raven Weng, Leon Wood, Tyler Zalmanzig
Structural Engineer Matthew Melnyk, Nous Engineering
Funding Bloom is funded by the AIA Upjohn Research Initiative, Arnold W. Brunner Award, Graham Foundation Grant, USC Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences Program, USC Undergraduate Research Associates Program, Woodbury University Faculty Development Grant, and in-kind donations from Engineered Materials Solutions
