Professor Eric Olsen is going to present two projects at the 105th ACSA Annual Meeting in Detroit this March. One project involves water potablity / portability in developing countries. Olsen’s second project is his innovative Thermodynamic Ventilating Surface.
Professor Olsen will present his ongoing design research focused on improving worldwide access to safe drinking water.
He will present designs for flexible and intuitive vessels for containing, carrying, and disinfecting water. Through digital manufacturing processes, Olsen has developed containers that are formally versatile and can be deployed in disaster areas, developing urban zones, rural regions, and any place where clean water is otherwise inaccessible. His design implements a passive method of pasteurization that offers an attractive alternative to intensive disinfection practices like bringing water to a boil over a fire.
Olsen’s Thermodynamic Ventilating Surface (see featured image) actively creates a micro-climate of conditioned air around a building user that accompanies them as they move from space to space, based on their specific temperature preference, allowing for increased individual thermal comfort.
With the shift toward solid-state lighting and low demand appliances and equipment, workspaces have become more energy efficient, yet HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) systems continue to operate according to principles developed during the Industrial Revolution.
In order to realize the potential of adaptive and intelligent materials in in workplace environments, Olsen developed a software/hardware system – the Thermodynamic Ventilating Surface – to re-imagine the way we evaluate and temper the environments of our buildings. The Thermodynamic Ventilating Surface project seeks to replace the conventional air distribution system of ductwork and registers with an intelligent sensing surface of micro-diffusers that provide variable amounts of conditioned air in response to localized user demands.
The Thermodynamic Ventilating Surface combines an architectural product – the panelized system – with computational intelligence – the sensors, controls, and software – to holistically provide comfortable interior environments. Data collected from the sensors and thermal cameras is processed by software which utilizes real-time locating system technology and analyzes thermal bodies and other inputs, selectively activating micro-diffusers based on demand.
To see details about the 105th ACSA Annual Meeting, visit the ACSA website.