ECO-SKIN - Nicolas Boutet - Vincent Barue

ECO-SKIN - FRANCE

Nicolas Boutet - Vincent Barue - VBNB – FOUNDATION

Nicolas Boutet Biography

Born in 1980

Architect DPLG in 2003, Beaux-Arts Architecture School Paris-Malaquais

Nicolas Boutet is CEO and Associate of FOUNDATION, a firm specialized in digital data models of buildings, and VBNB, an architectural agency based in Paris.

He has won numerous awards such as the european Europan 10 and the the Taylor Prize.

2008 - VBNB. With their creative and technical complementarity, Vincent Barue and Nicolas Boutet have grown over the years to experience the greatest contemporary architects, including Renzo Piano, Massimiliano Fuksas and Christian de Portzamparc.

In VBNB they work on many large-scale projects such as stadiums of the Euro 2016 football, towers, houses and bridges...

Vincent Barue and Nicolas Boutet are passionated by new technologies and their implementation at all levels in the construction sector. They spend a lot of developments and investments for several years as a starting point with BIM, Building Information Modeling and Management.

2014 - FOUNDATION, created in association with ELITHIS Engineer company, french leader in energy efficiency.

Based on a highly modeling expertise and data structuration, at the confluence of architecture and new technology, FOUNDATION is a company specialized in the production and management of 3D digital data models to buildings and territories, interactive and progressive, a key development for all actors in the construction sector and a dynamic support management along all life cycles.

Vincent Barue Biography

Born in 1983

Architect DPLG in 2007, Beaux-Arts Architecture School Paris-Malaquais

Vincent Barué is CEO and Associate of FOUNDATION, a firm specialized in digital data models of buildings, and VBNB, an architectural agency based in Paris.

He has won numerous awards such as the French Academy award of Architecture 2008, the european Europan 10, the Taylor’s and Wilmotte’s Prizes.

In VBNB they work on many large-scale projects such as stadiums of the Euro 2016 football, towers, houses and bridges...

2014 - FOUNDATION, created in association with ELITHIS Engineer company, french leader in energy efficiency.

Project Description

An Ecological and contemporary skin for 70 s Skyscrapers. In many cities around the world, real estate prices are climbing and building renovations are thriving more than ever before. Almost 70 % of present buildings will continue to exist into the next century. Instead of demolishing existing buildings and rebuilding new modern ones with an efficient technology at high price, our consciousness leads us towards a revolutionized approach of renovating, whilst at a lower cost. How could we redraw the skyline of our cities, bringing a new visual identity and renovating our patrimony legacy? We propose ECO-SKIN. A prefabricated modular panel composed of an aluminum structural frame and an ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafloroethylene) polymer membrane which has a weight of 1% of glass whilst remaining totally transparent. This panel is divided into 6 triangular surfaces of ETFE that react to pressure and compression according to the wind direction and strength. The membrane stretches to three times its length without loss of elasticity and is self-cleaning due to non-stick surface. Behind a structural frame integrates two pistons which retrieve the mechanical force and convert it into energy. The modular panel is plugged along the entire building, and forms a waterproof and airtight envelope. It gives a second skin to the building reducing the thermal loss and warming up the building especially during the winter. As a closed giant membrane, the enclosed air circulates freely between the original façade and the new skin. As an example, we could consider the 70s buildings as patients in the cities suffering of thermal loss, a substantial electrical consumption, and fairly unattractive. We took a prototype in Paris, the Montparnasse tower. A 56 floors office tower built in.

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