Reflection on September 25th 2008: Jellyfish

When the thought of a “Jellyfish” house was mentioned I was very confused and I wasn’t sure if I heard right. When I became aware that I had heard right I became very intrigued, skeptical yet intrigued. After I had viewed a picture of the actual prototype design I decided that I had to look into the design more and see exactly what the building was all about.
I came across the ARCHITECTURAL RECORD website which had an article which was speaking about the concept. I found out that the envelope of the Jellyfish House was designed by a San Francisco based architecture firm called IwamotoScott Architecture. This envelope of a building is not just a enclosure but an “active, smart technology engaged in the remediation “ of the surrounding environment. This structures technology is embedded within creating a piece of architecture which is simultaneously structural and ambient.
This prototype is an amazing concept however the technology does not exist as of yet. According to “OPEN HOUSE” we will be capable of such technologies within the next 50 years.
The proposed site for this amazing house is on Treasure Island which an artificial landmass within the San Francisco Bay. As of right now the site is home to a decommissioned military base. The architects are trying to find a way where they can keep the entire island intact and trying to disturb the absolute minimum natural resources as possible.
This house is composed of everything which surrounds it including water. In this sense there truly is no void space surrounding the building as the environment around it is actually incorporated within. One example of the home incorporating the environment is the outer skin. This skin is created using a parametric mesh. This mesh will be able to capture, filter and store rain water for use within the home. While the house is filtering the water it will glow changing shades of blue.
I hope that we figure out the technology in less time than 50 years because I would like to see the construction as well as the sustainability of the home. If it takes 50 years to figure out the technology I wont be around to see if the home is able to sustain even 20 years on the earth with the changing environmental conditions.
http://archrecord.construction.com/residential/unbuilt/archives/2007/07_jellyfishhouse/default.asp

~Trevor