ARCH201
Architecture 201
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e1ff7733702cff34d566df2c51dfcd26d24237beb40ff03bd2a121cd6e5b0045/static1.squarespace.jpg)
In the Fall of 2015 at Penn, I took Architecture 201. The class was centered around biomorphism - design that replicates or is inspired by living organisms. I chose to study the nose of the Greater Horseshoe Bat, with a specific focus to how it uses its nose to functionally direct sound over distances.
Inspired by the echolocation of the bat, I designed a space optimized for directing sound from one person's head to another. I designed the top half of the interior as an ellipse that would always direct sound to the other person in the sitting structure.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c64eb3838bf19b82d19d974ad81a44c68614d2208e0a6651a00bed2a501c2a98/static1.squarespace-1.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/648241e408225cd35ea81f180f240f226fe2fe0038fd49291b240d8652809cf9/static1.squarespace-3.jpg)
While, the interior of this structure is smooth, I wanted the exterior to be both more irregular and visually compelling, like the nose of the bat. To form the exterior, I deformed an ellipsoid to resemble an echolocation sound wave. From the front, the form is close to, but not exactly, symmetrical, just like a sound wave that a bat emits and is then reflected back to them. From the side, the form is reminiscent of other sounds structures, like a conch shell or even the cochlea in the ear.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7931f8d3d3380264d82b07876d7295ce4b9ac2675756538ab3fb1be4813399b9/static1.squarespace-5.jpg)
3-D printed model at 3/8'' = 1' scale
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b751fe3cbcd33641a1d0dc8b57712c40b5ff70f5a2493859be14dd94f0ad8b64/static1.squarespace-4.jpg)