Each unit is a self-contained, framed grid assembly consisting of multiple panels that extend and retract synchronously. Each whole unit actually comprises several openings that are driven by a single drive arm, making the system efficient and economic.

The grid shade’s simple, robust design provides opportunities for custom profiles and patterning. Hoberman has developed parametric design tools for designing customized configurations.

Contact: Hoberman Associates, New York, NY, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Screens are available in Stainless Steel or in Forms+Surfaces’ proprietary Fused Metal material, each in multiple high-durability and standard finishes. Eco-Etch, an environmentally safe process of etching metal, can also be specified for additional visual enhancement. The Screens collection includes a growing number of decorative designs, each inspired by a different cultural or nature-inspired theme.

Contact: Forms+Surfaces, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

For decades, GKD has manufactured metal fabrics for industrial applications in filtration and separation technologies and the process belt sector. At first, it was their visual attractiveness that made metal fabrics suitable for the architecture and design sector. During the continuous product development, it became clear that metal fabrics also have considerable technical advantages which are extremely relevant in the field of architecture. Today, the architect has a wide range of fabric samples at hand, with weaving widths up to 26 feet.

Woven metal fabrics may be used as partition elements, projection screens, and acoustic scrims appropriate for public buildings, opera houses and concert halls.

Contact: GKD-USA, Inc., Cambridge, MD, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial.

CMI’s periodic cellular materials are comprised of a lightweight core sandwiched between two face sheets. CMI utilizes a wide variety of designs for its proprietary structures such as pyramidal and tetrahedral configurations, collectively referred to as Microtruss. Both the core and face sheets are manufactured from proven and established commercial materials, employing standard metallurgical processes in a variety of designs, densities, and metals suited to the specifications of an application.

Contact: Cellular Materials International, Inc., Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial.

Contact: Power Stretch, Inc., Addison, IL, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial.

In the presence of sunlight, Reynobond with EcoClean causes organic particulate matter near its surface to break down, and this material is washed away later by rain. 10,000 square feet of EcoClean surface has a similar cleansing effect as 80 trees, and can counteract the pollution produced by four cars per day.

Contact: Alcoa Architectural Products, Eastman, GA, USA.

Recently, researchers at the Institute of Materials Science in Madrid tested the acoustic properties of the sculpture, and found that Órgano also behaves as a phononic crystal capable of filtering and modifying sound waves. Listeners positioned on one side of the installation will hear tonal modifications of sounds projected from the opposite side—an aural analogy to the visual effect of light passing through colored prisms.

Scientists at the Transport Research Laboratory in the UK are currently researching the application of Sempere’s geometry to reduce noise along rail networks and roadways.

Contact: Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain.

Solucent mesh shading systems reduce solar heat gain, leading to significant savings on cooling costs. Solucent is also a versatile and transparent daylighting material which can allow the desired amount of natural light into a building without obstructing views out of the windows. As a result, Solucent systems seamlessly reduce the need for electric light, which is the number one energy consumer in buildings and a contributor of unwanted heat gain.

Each Solucent system is designed based on a building’s solar orientation. The mesh pattern is also chosen according to these specifications, allowing each piece of the system to fit together precisely and effectively.

Contact: Cambridge Architectural, Cambridge, MD, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

The panels can be used to create stunning media effects on very large building envelopes that are viewable from both inside and outside a building. The photovoltaic system does not need to be in direct sunlight to work, and will generate electricity even on cloudy days. The panels have a power warranty of twenty years and are expected to generate power for fifty years.

SolPix allows daylight into the building while reducing its exposure to direct sunlight. The sunshading elements provide unobstructed outside views from the building interior, while lending a contemporary texture to the building exterior. The horizontal or vertical panels can be mounted at a preferred angle or can be rotated in order to maximize exposure to direct sunlight.

Contact: Simone Giostra and Partners, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.

Vault-structured materials, even if thin and lightweight, are highly resistant to bending and to stress caused by thermal expansion, and they have other advantageous properties with application potential for lightweight structures. When flow bypasses three-dimensional profiled surfaces, there is a higher convective heat and mass-transfer coefficient compared to smooth surfaces.

Contact: Dr. Frank Mirtsch, Stahnsdorf, Germany.
Find more information in Transmaterial 3.