Delta and Delft Integraal often write about innovative ideas that offer big promises for the future. But what has happened to such ideas a couple years on? What for instance has happened to furniture that reshapes?
Delta 27-04-2006
“For her Master’s thesis, architect Charlotte Lelieveld designed a room with a floor and walls that could morph into tables and chairs.”
With a couple of clicks of a mouse, two tables, eight chairs and a big couch are created before your very eyes. The room is designed exactly the way you want it, and way you want it. If you have a dinner party, for instance, the walls and floor reshape into a table with many chairs. Afterwards, the party continues and your guests can lounge on couches.
That was the vision architect Charlotte Lelieveld had four years ago, which led to her winning a Delft Centre of Materials’ Young Wild Ideas Award. “I thought I’d be able to build the chair on a small scale in a year, but it proved to be a lot tougher. Because I’m an architect, I didn’t have experience working with materials like polymer. It took a long time to understand how the material behaves exactly.”
In fact, Lelieveld is still researching the material. She has since transformed her ‘wild idea’ into a PhD research project. “I’m the first one that’s doing this kind of research at the faculty of Architecture,” she says, “which makes it exiting but also demanding, because not a lot is known.”
Lelieveld is using Shape Memory Polymer, which can be morphed if it is heated up. When it cools down again, the polymer becomes hard and can be used as furniture. “I combine the polymer with Shape Memory Alloy,” she explains. “I use the alloy as actuator to set the polymer in motion, but I must know exactly how much force the alloys deliver. I’m also working on an integrated heating system inside the material. Ultimately, a computer, on which one could design, should be attached to the furniture, but I’m not yet working on that. The material itself is complicated enough. I’m currently working on a piece that’s 100 x 30 millimetres.”
For her research, Lelieveld is working together with Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Science and Engineering. “I think a lot about how to use the material; they think primarily about how the material works. That’s why the people at Mechanical Engineering have taught me so much. It’s fascinating to work together with researchers in different fields. Hopefully my research will lead to that room with morphing furniture. I’m also working on a project to use the material to ventilate buildings or to block the sun, but it will probably take a while before we get there. A lot more research on this new material and its use must be done.”
Architecture guide
The Architecture Delft Guide Foundation recently launched a website offering virtual tours of Delft’s architectural wonders. Via Google maps, owners of iPhones or smartphones can access the site while wandering around Delft. The site offers 300 project descriptions for projects related to various architectural movements and styles.
Road closure
The Michiel de Ruyterweg – dependent on the weather – will be partially closed as of January 11. The section of road at issue is that which runs between the Julianalaan and the Mijnbouwstraat. Traffic in the direction of the TU campus will be diverted to the remaining section of road open to traffic. Traffic from Rotterdamseweg – Julianalaan in the direction of the city centre will be diverted via De Vries van Heijstplantsoen. The closure, in effect until mid-April, is due to construction for the new tram line.
Best employer
TU Delft has been voted best employer in the category education. This is the first time that TU Delft has been included in the ‘Incompany 200’ annual study of employee satisfaction. In its magazine, Incompany 200 presents employee levels of satisfaction for employers in large businesses, organizations and government bodies in the Netherlands A total of 135 organizations were surveyed, including a considerable number of universities. More than 70,000 employees were asked to assess their employers on 18 aspects in the categories of job profile, employment terms and conditions, career and work culture. TU Delft took 15th place with a score of 7.15, making it the highest scoring university. This was the first year that universities were included in this survey.
Delta safe
Delta will continue in both its print and online versions, said TU Delft Executive Board member, Paul Rullmann, during a recent meeting with the student council. Rullmann was prompted to reaffirm Delta’s future standing following the University of Utrecht’s recent decision to terminate Ublad, the print version of its university newspaper as of 1 January 2010. Utrecht moreover severely reduced its editorial news team and will only publish news online, a move that was met by dismay by many within in the Utrecht university community who regard an independent journalism, upholding the values of freedom of thought and speech, as vital to a university. Utrecht’s action raised concern among the members of TU Delft’s student council, leading to Rullmann’s confirmation that the Executive Board has “no plans” to downsize Delta or publish online only. He also reaffirmed Delta’s journalistic independence.
Bio-based economy
As of 1 January 2010, knowledge institutes, the Dutch government and industry are to cooperate more intensively and at international level to speed up the introduction of the bio-based economy, an economy based on renewable sources. By placing the emphasis on scale-up research, an open innovation model and a proactive role for the financial sector, the BE-Basic consortium aims to stimulate innovation which will lead to accelerated introduction. TU Delft is coordinating the new initiative that includes an R&D budget exceeding 120 million euro. BE-Basic will not just position itself as a leading institute nationally, but will have a large number of European and global industrial, academic and financial partners, including DSM, AkzoNobel, Imperial College (UK), several US and Asian players, and financial partners such as Rabobank.
KICWith sustainable energy, climate change and ICT at the top of the EU’s agenda, the European Institute for Technology (EIT), which will be launched this year, has reserved a couple hundred million euro for Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) based around these key themes. TU Delft is involved in two KICs: ICT and climate change. The KICs will consist of robust consortia of universities and businesses and will be located in different locations throughout Europe.
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