The house that SHAPESHIFTS: Designers create 'origami' model building that expands and contracts depending on the temperature

The designers say it could be used to make changeable spaces such as shelters or pavillions While only a prototype for now the researchers say it could one day lead to structures that can be moulded into different shapes When it cools it solidifies in the new position and flattens when heated again Drones and gravity can also be used to pull it into different arrangements When it is heated above 60°C it expands and grows into a new form Researchers at Barcelona’s Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya have designed a prototype structure that can change shape In the future will it be possible to have houses that expand and contract as it gets hotter and colder? When it is heated above 60°C it expands and grows into a new form and holds its shape when it cools The project is the work of students Ece Tankal, Efilena Baseta and Ramin Shambayati from Barcelona’s Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalunya. The prototype is made of plywood, with embedded wires heating the various triangulated segments Drones and gravity can also be used to pull it into different arrangements. While only a prototype for now the researchers say it could one day lead to houses that change with temperature In addition they show how, when heated, the prototype doesn’t just expand - it can actually be moulded as well.