Komorebi Cell
Corgan HUGO Summer Internship Competition — June 2022
By Thomas Wang, JJ Jin, Ludmila Semenova, Edgar Meruvia, Nicole Betances
The sound of running water, natural breezes, rustling leaves and the rays of sunshine peeking through trees are one of many captivating qualities that make humans feel at peace when immersed in nature. In the Komorebi Cell, these natural phenomena were recreated to efficiently and sustainably generate energy needs. The Komorebi Cell is inspired by the life-supporting mechanisms of a tree, utilizing sunlight, water, and wind to generate otherwise lost energy for human use.
Through user interviews with international and domestic urban dwellers, many individuals expressed their need for resting points throughout the city, filtered water for dogs, charging ports for electronic devices, the presence of nature, and the desire to experience shade and sun simultaneously. Thus, the project focuses on addressing these while also putting heavy emphasis on utilizing sustainable materials and efficiently producing energy for public use. Komorebi Cell strives to create an environment that can meet the needs of users, while utilizing sustainable materials to create a sustainable and productive structure for urban residents.
Leaf
Branch
Tree
Forest
The Komorebi Cell is biomimetic throughout. Not only do the mechanisms of plants inspire the engineering, but patterns found in nature such as tree composition patterns and leaf cell structures inspired the forms that the Komorebi Cell accumulates into. At the largest scale, the project emulate a forest, and then each canopy unit as a single tree, a larger, branch-like structure, and finally into the single Komorebi Cell, representing a single leaf. These patterns can be particularly observed at the largest scales, where crown shyness leads to trees having small gaps in between them.
Single Canopy
Group Canopy
Cluster Canopy
Collection Canopy
System Canopy
Sun & Rain Shade for Single Canopy
Bus Stop for Canopy Group
Park Pavilion for Canopy System
The Komorebi Cell intends to be a flexible tool for designers to produce creative designs that serve as public amenities both in function and in aesthetic. The single canopy unit can be greatly modular, being isolated as a single unit, a small collection, a larger group, or even covering an entire area. This is intended to suit different programs and settings, such as sun shading for the beach, a bus stop, or even a playground canopy in the park.
The individual leaf elements of the canopy are composed of four unique materials to highlight the biomimicry of a tree leaf. Liquid Crystal Elastomer is a bendable material that memorizes its original form when heated and cooled. By substituting RM257 with PEGDA250 in the chemical makeup of the material, Liquid Crystal Elastomer’s transformation temperature will remain at approximately 25 degrees Celsius or 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Additional manipulation to the material makeup can further adjust the transformation temperature for different weather climates. The Komorebi Cell takes advantage of the self-adjusting nature of the liquid crystal elastomer by bending and freeing the leaf cell from the outer frame, allowing free rotation and sunlight to peek through when the temperature becomes warmer. When moisture and cold temperatures hit the material, Liquid Crystal Elastomer becomes rigid in the frame once again, allowing rainfall to flow down the now watertight surface into a collection basin below. The leaf’s frame is encased in Chitosan Biopolymer, which is a lightweight, sturdy, organic, and waterproof fabric-like material, dimming the sunlight passing through and creating shade for the users below. A transparent solar film is layered on top of the Chitosan Biopolymer, collecting solar energy and directing it towards the storage unit below. Ultimately, the completed leaf component is fitted into a Nanowood frame that the leaves spin around. The material is devised from stripped-down wood fibers to create a strong, sustainable, and heat-insulative material to enclose the electrical wires from the generator.
The trees generate energy from wind, solar, and hydro energy, allowing each tree to maximize the amount of energy collected in different weather conditions. The energy gathered can be used to power up street lamps, charge phones, electric scooters, and bikes. The rainwater collected can be filtered and used for water fountains for pedestrians and their dogs. In addition, gray water can be used to water plants nearby, fire hydrants, and water features throughout the city. In addition to producing energy, The Komorebi Cell provides pedestrians with partial shade and coverage from rain.
