CROMA
Exploring Organic Chromogenetic Materials as Sustainable Enhancers of Architectural Experience

Towards 'Responsible' Responsiveness

This on-going project required the convergence of the fields of Material Science, Chemical Engineering, Electronics, and Architecture. I collaborated with the class' experts, as well as with other MIT gurus in the Material Science and Chemical Engineering departments for creating a networked, sensor-enabled, programmable electrochromic component. I've provisionally called this research initiative CROMA.

The MAS863 project consisted of the development of a responsive, programmable polymer-based architectural component. The component in question merges organic polymers, sensor technologies, and architectural design in a novel way to embed responsive behavior in architectural surfaces, specifically for windows. Earlier stages of this research work were presented and published in the ECAADE 2007 conference.

Notably, I was able to create a proof-of-concept device that changes opacity in accordance to voltage, using cheap, environmentally friendly organic polymers. I see this as a promising area of research that I wish to continue pursuing. My personal research on sustainable, responsive, programmable polymers for architectural applications can expand into polymer-based displays (active, luminescent, as opposed to passive, opaque) that are both energy efficient and functionally innovative. I am excited about the inter-disciplinary nature of the research (it could hardly take place anywhere but at MIT), and about its potential for altering the ways we relate to buildings and surfaces in the future.

I plan to continue exploring the unique materials employed, their potential, in order to define the future steps that ought to be taken in order to create a truly reliable, sustainable and cheap responsive electrochromic component.

Credits

CROMA is a research initiative developed by Daniel Cardoso, key collaborators have been Avni Argun, Jaebum Joo and Carlos Rocha. I want to thank Neil Gershenfeld, Kenny Cheung, Johnatan Ward, and all the How to Make Almost Anything class for their insights and support, and for the atmosphere of exploration and invention the class provides.

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