pluma – 2021

With a design framework applicable to any site in the world, the Pluma installation envisions a lightweight future where structures generate more energy than they embody. Earned honorable mention at the IASS 2020 Design Competition.

Pluma demonstrates how form can follow function across disciplines and performance metrics. The design features photovoltaic membranes suspended in a lightweight cable system, resembling a flock of birds in flight.

The shape and orientation of the membrane ensemble is precisely tuned by an optimization algorithm to maximize solar radiation exposure and power generation on the site in Surrey.

Competition in Collaboration with the Digitial Structures Group at MIT,

Team: Demi Fang, Eduardo Gascon, Mohamed Ismail, Paul Mayencourt, Caitlin Mueller and Ramon Weber