“The Bloom”, Breathing Architecture Installation Made Of 14,000 Pieces

Since last November, a shiny undulating installation can be seen on Material & Application’s courtyard on Silver Lake Boulevard, Los Angeles. The center for architecture and landscape research shows “The Bloom”, a 14,000 pieces of thermobimetal installation designed by University of Southern California architect professor Doris Kim Sung, in collaboration with Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter and Matthew Melnyk.

Two metallic sheets, each with different expansion rates, are laminated together. According to the temperature, the metal sheets curl up or flatten out. The 6-meters tall experiment will have big implications in energy savings architecture, it is a chance to change the way we think.

“For a long time, my work has examined why architecture is static and nonresponsive, and why it can’t be more flexible like clothing,” Sung said. “Why do we have to adapt to architecture rather than architecture responding to us? Why can’t buildings be animated? Imagine a canopy that curls shut when the sun is directly overhead, or a vent that opens automatically to let out hot air when it gets a bit stuffy inside.”