Water-Reacting Architectural Surface

A Laminated Material that reacts to water

Product Designer Chao Chen, currently studying at London's Royal College of Art  has developed an innovative building material that changes shape as the material becomes wet. 

As the material begins to dry, it slowly returns back to its original shape.

Below, Chao has creatively used the material to produce a floral design as the material slowly becomes wet.
By adding a colour to the background of the reactive panel, he produces a beautiful piece of artwork as the final design is set off by the background colour.

Dry condition

Reacting as it becomes wet

All images by Chao Chen

Inspiration came from the opening & closing of a pine cone

Chao used one of natures products to help him produce this innovative material. One day, walking through London's Hyde Park, which I regularly have the pleasure of walking through, he took several cones home with him and begun to study their make up and what made them function as they did. He found that the cones consisted of two types of layers that reacted differently to water.

The outer layer elongates more that the inner layer which naturally makes the cone contract when wet

All mages by Chao Chen

With this important information, Chao cleverly  produced an innovative laminate, consisting of multiple layers of different materials. This remarkably reproduced the natural closing action of the pine cone.

Reactive materials hold huge potential for architects and engineers in the near future, 

Here, Chao uses the reactive material to produce a roof.
When the conditions are dry, the tiles let the sun shine through and when they become wet, they close up.

Roofing tiles open in dry conditions

Roofing tiles closed in wet conditions

Here Chao models a pine cone and reproduces the natural opening and closing motion that first inspired him

All images by Chao Chen

When the soil is dry the stick is in an upright position and the red is a warning that it needs to be watered.

All images by Chao Chen

All images by Chao Chen

The soil now has enough water and the stick lowers itself and shows the blue side as being ok.