Materializing Convection

This essay uses a physical modeling technique from mechanical engineering, the filling box, as a speculative architectural design tool. In the filling box, dyed salt water is injected into acrylic models submerged within a tank of fresh water, simulating the introduction of cold air into a warm envi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Architecture and culture 2019-05, Vol.7 (2), p.317-330
Main Author: Moffitt, Lisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
alliesthesia
architectural design
Architecture
Atmospheric circulation
Atmospheric models
Computer simulation
convection
Environment models
filling box
Fresh water
Materiality
Mechanical engineering
Saline water
thermal asymmetry
Thermodynamics
Warm air
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Summary:This essay uses a physical modeling technique from mechanical engineering, the filling box, as a speculative architectural design tool. In the filling box, dyed salt water is injected into acrylic models submerged within a tank of fresh water, simulating the introduction of cold air into a warm environment or, when mirrored, the introduction of warm air into a cooler environment. The models make complex and beautiful convective thermodynamic processes visible, revealing insights about environmental processes taking place within and around buildings. Mirror images of model studies are accompanied by writing that draws on the science of thermodynamics to explore the atmospheric milieu of architecture, aligning an increasingly ubiquitous concept in architectural design discourse - thermal variability - with a design technique that foregrounds this concern.
ISSN:2050-7828
2050-7836
DOI:10.1080/20507828.2019.1627117