TRIMTAB BUILDING
The challenge of this building design was to find a solution to the crushing forces of tsunami waves, typhoon and hurricane winds. The solution was to create a shape that would have the least resistance to wave and wind forces. Studying the hydrodynamics of marine life and the aerodynamics of birds revealed fascinating insights into how structural shape is affected by a moving medium like water or air. The tear-drop shape is the optimum shape to travel through both water and air. The tear-drop form became the basis for design development. From this initial insight a three dimensional shape was developed which resembles a giant dorsal fin similar to a dorsal shark fin.
The dorsal fin shape slices through the water and air like a knife as long as it faces edge-wise into the moving medium. One can feel the efficiency of this. The added challenge of the context, which is the beaches of Cancun, Mexico, is that wind and wave direction changes frequently. The building’s resistive efficiency is optimal when it faces directly into the axis of the wind and waves. Therefore, the building must adapt to unpredictable directional change. To accommodate this, the building is set on a circular turntable of large, greased ball-bearings, which allow the building to swivel and face any direction. In addition, the building’s lower level is hollow to allow water and air to pass through, minimizing great forces against the lower base area of the structure. The hollow ground levels accelerate breezes through the building and acts as a ventilation column to direct cooling breeze up through the structure. An opening and closing skylight/roof promotes a constant flow of uplifted air through the building. This takes the place of mechanical/electrical air-conditioning and ventilation systems. No electricity is used for mechanical devices. A series of five windmills produce more than enough electricity to satisfy the needs of the inhabitants.
The name, Trimtab, is derived from trimtabs that are used on airplanes and boats to improve the control and stabilization of the vehicle in movement. Trimtabs make it easier for the pilot to control the stability of the vehicle to the point that no manual pressure is needed at all. It proves the principle that a small, well-designed, aerodynamic shape, can control a very large device with great efficiency and almost no effort. In our case, the Trimtab habitat, can avoid the enormous force of the wind and waves with very little effort because of its movement and shape. This shape also gives it excellent ability to direct wind for generating electricity (located on the backside of the building).
The structure is composed of a newly patented lightweight, water-proof and fire-proof material invented in South Africa, which is as strong as structural steel but many times lighter. It is called, General Composites, and could well be the structural material of the future. This material is also insulated and can be made to be tranluscent and transparent. The Trimtab building is constructed of General Composite material.
The structure of the walls of the building are made of a series of tensegrity frames which absorb force. The absorption walls are backed by a hexagonal structural skin system that rigidifies and supports on-coming forces such as high winds and water. This system is modeled after the Asian sword—where the blade is made to be pliable, to absorb shock and harsh materials, for cutting efficiency; and the backside of the blade is hard and rigid to support the strength of the blade itself to resist shock. The Trimtab building slices through the tsunami wave and hurricane winds like a sword blade; keeping the lives of its inhabitants safe from disaster forces.
In sum, the Trimtab building is a prototype for living in coastal areas often affected by natural disasters. Its design, moving abilities, shape, materials and accommodation of natural forces, make the building a natural extension of the elements common to the locale. This is a local building for local use along the Mexican sea coast.