the blur building by architects diller and scofidio: a project of an inhabitable cloud whirling above lake neuchatel in switzerland ....................................
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how they obtained the blur effect the saturation of the air with moisture, which produces the visible mist effect, depends on a number of physical environmental conditions. these parameters include the speed and direction of the wind, the environmental temperature and the atmospheric humidity : - the higher the temperature, the greater the amount of moisture required to produce the necessary degree of saturation. - when the air has a moisture level of, for example, 75 percent, the desired effect can be achieved by the addition of only 25 percent. - the volume of the space determines the output quantity necessary for the saturation of the air with moisture. in calm (windless) conditions the volume corresponds to the size of the space. in windy conditions, however, the determining volume is proportionate to the amount of air moved by the wind through the specific space. thus it increases with increasing wind speed. - since mist hangs in the air, it moves in the direction of the wind. starting at the point where the water leaves the jet, a white stripe becomes visible. as soon as the air is no longer saturated with moisture, this white stripe disappears. at low temperatures with simultaneous high air moisture, the stripe is virtually always visible. when the conditions are reversed, it disappears almost immediately. - putting the cloud into operation under consideration of all these meteorological conditions is a highly complex technical proceeding. appropriate adjustments can be made on various levels, e.g. the placement of the spray mechanisms, the number of jets, planning of different spraying areas. the optimisation of these measures is carried out with the help of a computerised weather station that supplies the necessary nformation about the relevant parameters. this information is analysed by the computer and subsequently used to determine the adjustment of the spraying on the basis of conclusions reached in connection with tests carried out the year before. --- back to the designboom article diller & scofidio : the blur building --- ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? -------