Smart materials: An interview with Dr. Peters

Dr. Peters, we describe materials as being “smart” when their characteristics can be changed in a targeted fashion. What developments are you seeing in such materials?What developments are you seeing in such materials?

The number and diversity of applications for smart materials – materials that react to external influences and environmental factors – has increased significantly. For example, there is a heat-reactive shading system and a desk that can convert light into electricity.

What does the potential in these new materials mean for their application in interior design? What opportunities do they open up?

The use of function-integrated materials and the intelligent use of materials give designers and architects the opportunity to work much more consciously with the available resources. Smart materials react automatically to changing influences from the environment and they act to the benefit of people in areas such as shading, climate control, acoustics and lighting. Interior design becomes a lot more straightforward using these materials. The use of materials and hence the weight of system components are reduced.

“Smart” materials call for innovative forms of production. What interesting approaches are there in this regard, and in which direction are they heading?

Without question, the most interesting development in innovative production methods is 3D printing or so-called additive manufacturing technologies. These processes are not based on conventional, material-subtractive processes, as is the case with milling, turning or drilling. Instead they work by building up or “adding” the material. The biggest advantage of these technologies is that even complex component geometries with internal cavity structures can be implemented: these are structures that cannot be produced in any other way. When 3D printing is combined with the options that digitalisation and online data transfer open up, we seem to be a step closer to individualised product manufacturing.

Alongside sustainable solutions, the compatibility of materials with considerations of health and well-being is also becoming increasingly important. What can “smart” materials contribute to health?

Smart material solutions are applied in situations where they have a positive impact on room acoustics, or where they reduce the stress levels of people in the room, or if they can have a direct effect on well-being, for example by altering the light colour. Other developments include materials that reduce the heart rate by emitting natural fragrances. In particular, there is considerable potential in smart materials for climate control in buildings under extreme weather conditions.

Dr. Sascha Peters is the founder and owner of Haute Innovation - a materials and technology agency based in Berlin. He is in worldwide demand as an expert in innovation in the fields of sustainability, conservation of resources, smart materials and additive production, and has given numerous lectures on these subjects across the world.