A fascinating material concept to bring light into the depths of a room via glass fibres is currently on show at Prototyping 2015, Kortrijk (October 28-29). This concept was developed by students of the Technical University Delft and Marcel Bilow’s department called the Bucky Lab. The students tested and experimented a lot during the course, studied the production technologies of making brushes and brooms, and finally made this panel out of plexiglass.

The problem:

Too much sun and warmth penetrates many buildings. How can we create a sun shading system that not only keeps the excess sunlight away, but also the warmth in a way that still allows you to look outside? In nature, animals and plants use their hair to regulate this. If hairs are added to the façade, the same principles of insulation and light diffusion without blocking the view apply. This prototype is covered with light emitting fibres made for facades, and especially for window areas. This concept can be applied within a façade cavity. But it could also be applied as a feature in a lobby hall or on a separation wall within an office space, museum or hotel. The fact that it can be illuminated with LEDs makes it even more usable for interior applications. The panel performs by creating a diffuse light, which makes it pleasant to sit and work next to it. Glare is still a problem, however.

For further development, the team recommends placing the panel inside a building. Finding a way to implement these fibres onto a glass plate would increase the panel’s durability and finding an industrial way of inserting the fibres would drastically shorten the production process, which was done by hand for the prototype.

Discover more about the Legacy Lab here and the Buckylab Blogspot here!

Credits:
Ahmed Assed, Rodrigo Dias Goncalves Lima
Dr.- Ing. Marcel Bilow