Snapping Facades: Exploring Elastic Instability for the Building Envelope

This article presents an alternative dynamic facade actuation mechanism utilizing the deformation of snapping instability without continuous force application. Based on analytical and numerical studies prior to fabrication, a prototype snapping facade is built and its proof of concept is demonstrated for the proposed snapping-induced motion. The snapping facade provides a novel way to exploit elastic instability in dynamic building-envelope applications. Further development of the system for practical applications will include the study of different materials for the snapping beams and shading membranes as well as the energy-performance benefits of the snapping facade system.