BioSkin was inspired by the traditional practice of uchimizu, the sprinkling of water in Japanese gardens, temples and streets to lower ambient temperatures and keep dust at bay. On the building, the ‘skin’ is made of extruded aluminum cores, with a water-retentive terra-cotta shell. Rainwater is collected from the roof and then sent to the basement to be sterilized before its circulated throughout the building through a series of pipes.At the Tokyo office the pipes were designed into the structure as balcony railings and Japanese window blinds known as sudare. As the water evaporates out of the pipes it cools its surroundings, reducing the building interior's temperature by as much as 21°F, and its surroundings by 3°F, mitigating the urban heat.Some designers believe that if the majority of the buildings in a given city adopted BioSkin, there could be a metropolis-wide impact on the climate. There's no word yet on if other skyscrapers will adopt the tech, but the facade could be an eco-friendly strategy towards designing a fully air-conditioned city (unlike other, expensive and unsustainable, projects).
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