Media Facade Research

1 After Deconstructivism 1988-92

1.3A A New Paradigm P.22-23

Jean Nouvel, Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France, 1981-7
"The interactive facade of the Institut du Monde Arabe changes its appearance in relation to the amount of light it receives. here Nouvel demonstrates the potential of digital technologies, transforming a cladding into a light-sensitive skin." (P.23 Wiley, 2008)

"The building is notable for its continuous glazed facade, behind which are positioned a series of metal oculi that, like the lens of a camera, open and close based on the quantity of light perceived. These are controlled by electronic sensors programmed to guarantee constant values of internal illumination, independent of the variations in the intensity of the sunlight outside the building. The result is a buiding whose appearance is in constant mutation, behaving like a living organism that activates strategies of change which are both functional and formal." (P.23 Wiley, 2008)

Project completed in 1982 (the design is from 1981)

Book:-
New Directions in Contemporary Architecture:
Evolutions and Revolutions in Building Design Since 1988
Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi

Copyright(c)2008 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England
ISBN 978-0-470-51889-2 (hb)