Beehive
Design and installation of a cost effective, low-tech outdoor cooling system.
CLIENT
Ant-Studio is an interdisciplinary studio focused on material exploration and advanced tools, connecting labor intensive methods with frugal design.
MY ROLE
Product Designer
TOOLS
Digital: Solidworks, Rhino, Autodesk CFD
Fabrication: Slip Casting, Pottery wheel
the challenge
How might we design an eco-friendly air cooler with sustainable and local resources?
PRODUCT GOALS
The solution
Beehive
A new kind of air cooling system using cylindrical cones of terracotta for evaporative cooling. The pots provided a large porous surface area to maximize the cooling effect. Clay has Hygroscopic (water attracting) qualities, thus capable of absorbing water in a vapor phase as well as liquid. The design was inspired by the structure of a beehive. The conceived beehive structure was ready to be functional with the cones forming the desired pattern.
Blue print of each cone
the process
Developing form explorations
Prototyping process and working with artisans using ceramic slip casting and a pottery wheel
Exploration for highly porous materials
Slip casting
Firing terracotta
Installation
Factory of Deki Electronics in Noida, India
OTHER WORK
