Elephant Skin-inspired Building Envelope

Elephant skin-inspired building envelope is proposed as a climate-responsive system that modulates indoor temperature and humidity based on the adaptive thermal regulation strategies of the African elephant. This research outlines an interdisciplinary framework that couples building science, biology, and material science to develop hygroscopic, actuated bi-layer components capable of retaining moisture and cooling indoor environments through evaporation.

Team:

Thermal Architecture Lab: Ji Yoon Bae (PhD Candidate)

Penn Material Science: Shu Yang Group