Active Origami: A new active biomaterial for architecture Part 1 Dissertation 2019 Emily Birch Newcastle University | UK Environmental sustainability has become one of the biggest issues in modern-day architecture. To be truly sustainable, architecture must begin to morph into dynamic, responsive buildings which adapt to their environment much like the natural world. ‘Active Origami’ interrogates this premise through development of a new active biomaterial for architecture which responds to environmental humidity through hydromorphic deformation. This novel biomaterial aspires to provide environmental strategies within buildings to improve user wellbeing and sustainability by reducing the architectural carbon footprint through creating passive, shape-changing, environmentally responsive systems. An intensive, multidisciplinary research approach lead to innovation of new laboratory techniques and methodologies to develop functional biological actuators for use in architecture. The actuators’ performance was rigorously investigated experimentally and demonstrated novel findings - a rapid, reversible and repeatable deflection is achieved in response to a change in humidity. Further force investigations showed the actuators could lift masses greater than their own across meaningful distances, pushing our understanding of this new biomaterial further towards the architectural scale. This breakthrough has the potential to be pivotal in revolutionising the way we view architectural sustainability. Proving that by harnessing simple biological processes, a passive and sustainable future can be brought one step closer. Tutor(s) Martyn Dade-Robertson