makezine.com: The first iteration of the giant mechanical iris in my home turned out to be somewhat pointless in its current position. The room who’s temperature it was supposed to help regulate had too many windows for the iris to really make a difference. It was sitting there, only being used when I showed it off to friends. When one of the leaves broke, I decided it was time to re-think the design. and location.
2 comments:
I think this project is a really cool way to rethink both how we regulate our manufactured environments and how thing usually reserved for decoration can be used in a variety of interesting ways never previously thought. The iris is something I only ever associated with the aperture of a camera to zoom or see something visually. This feat of engineering made it larger and gave an almost science fiction edge to a previously petite and unassuming piece of technology. This leads to the question, what other small things or bits of technology can be used in ways we never thought before? An iris being used to modulate temperature seems obvious when it's explained, but requires creativity to transfer from idea to reality. Using something new as a way to spread around light in a room, for example, or to facilitate noise control or aid in circulation are all things often ignored while the more glamorous things get creative innovation- doors, windows, furniture, and other things you clearly see. Using this iris wasn't only helping with a problem, but did it in a way that made it interesting and visible. I'd love to see how a whole system of irises could work together to stabilize and control the image of a whole apartment, or even a whole floor of a building! Its an incredible and eco friendly way to change temperatures without burning gasoline to condition or heat, and could be made hand cranking to save electricity, too.
I think this is a cool idea, but I am not really sure on its purpose. He mentioned regulating air flow as a reason for the first one that did not work as well, but not the others. I would like to see one on the side of a house used for a garage door or as a cover for windows or maybe even as a hobbit hole door. I wonder if something like this could be used for something new that has not been thought of before. It would also be cool to see it happen from a switch and not by hand, which is what I originally thought it would do. Looks cool, but does not really serve a useful function that I can see. Also, isn't there one of these in our shop?
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