Architectural components to enhance Environmental Quality LDM 3D printing and Computational Design

The improvement of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) represents nowadays a crucial factor for the occupant’s health and comfort and for the energy consumption of buildings. For this reason, the development of passive strategies to control the indoor humidity and noise level is of particular interest for professionals and academics from the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. The presented study aims to develop a 3D printed panel/device deployable for the improvement of the IEQ. Moreover, a workflow that integrates computational design and optimization process for the panel geometrical definition and fabrication has been defined. The structure has been studied to passively regulate indoor environmental conditions by exploiting moisture buffering and acoustic absorption capabilities. The research methodology is based on an experimental approach based on two exploration scale: material and component definition level. The first level focuses on the development of a material mix that could be 3D printed with Liquid Deposition Modeling (LDM), while providing moisture storage and transport properties. The second level focuses on the structure design which has been parametrically defined using “Grasshopper for Rhinoceros” and its geometry has been optimized using the multi-objective evolutionary engine “Wallacei”. At the fabrication stage, several samples with geometrical variations have been fabricated with a DeltaWASP 40100 3D printer. Finally, the 3D printed samples performance has been assessed and compared against a sample with a conventional geometry. To this aim both Moisture Buffering tests according to NORDTEST protocol and sound absorption test based on ISO 10354-2 using the impedance tube method have been carried out. This comparison gives further insights on how an optimized geometrical structure with a maximized exposed surface and reduced use of material could potentially affect the moisture buffering and acoustic performance.