New Construction Materials Based on Biomimetic Principles / Pohl Architekten ~ Civil engineering

New Construction Materials Based on Biomimetic Principles / Pohl Architekten

Part of a worldwide research network conducted by PlanktonTech Institute, the COCOON_FS is a structure that integrates architectural sculpture, new technologies and biomimetic principles. As the Institute’s focus is on basic research of marine plankton organisms such as diatoms, the intention of the project is to develop as a material efficient construction by learning from natural lightweight composite structures. Pohl Architekten created a technical solution by translating natural lightweight constructions into technical prototypes using highly efficient technical fibers. It is a floating system that embodies the activities of PlanktonTech.

COCOON_FS visualizes both – natural lightweight construction as well as highly efficient technical design solutions. With its weight of only 750 kg, the pavilion can easily be transported to any location. In the sense of stability the floating construction is able to withstand thunderstorms. The self supporting shell of COCOON_FS is made of FRP (fiber reinforced polymers) that forms the skin and the supporting structure in one. The FRP composite design is optimized by all design parameters including broad iterative research of parametric design, production needs. Compared to biological solutions in nature, COCOON_FS is to be seen as morphogenetic design.