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Sub(Ambient) - Albeit Studio

“Bio-based Passive cooling.”                     ︎  WATCH A VIDEO          


2023

(Sub)ambient absorbs heat from its surroundings and emits it as infrared light, which travels through the atmosphere to outer space. (Sub)ambient reflects almost all sunlight, so even in direct sun it doesn’t heat up. (Sub)ambient prevents excessive warming during heatwaves. It can provide shelter, protect fragile ecosystems and reduce urban heat islands.














See process ︎︎︎





[Albeit Studio]


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We are agents of the vital world;
where health, comfort, and safety are accessible to all
and public resources are as powerful as their private counterparts.

Our work looks toward what is to come,
reforming the anticipated into the unexpected.

We are a daring team, albeit unusual.









Relief For A Warming Planet
A Link To The Great Cosmic Heat Sink


By sending heat to outer space through infrared radiation,
Passive Daytime Radiative Cooling (PDRC) materials break the negative feedback loop
that limits all other cooling methods.
Instead of moving heat between points on Earth
PDRC removes it from the atmosphere.





Shape Shifting


(Sub)ambient can be tailored to fit different contexts. It can be cast, pressed, or cut to shape. Its three-dimensional texture shields pockets of air from wind, holding its cooling effect in place. These forms lock together to assemble larger structures.







Turing Pattern Texture


The surface structure has been redesigned. Dimples can preventing the Boundary Layer from Detaching. And coral structure have the similar principle which can trap the cold fluid. Albeit studio get inspired by them and design macro structure to capture air and improve the material performance.




Fabrication Process


(Sub)ambient starts with food waste.  The UK alone consumes over 12 billion eggs. Eggshells, along with discarded seashells, are repurposed in (Sub)ambient as highly reflective micro-spherical CaCO3 particles.

Cellulose nanofibers, grown from the bacteria Acetobacter xylinum, bind together the shell-microspheres. Like the CaCO3 particles, these fibers have high reflection and IR emissivity due to nanopores formed.




The Impact of 5°C


(Sub)ambient prevents excessive warming during heatwaves. It can provide shelter, protect fragile ecosystems and reduce urban heat islands. 5°C keeps a native species in its habitat. 5°C prevents coral bleaching. 5°C of cooling stops fruit from growing overripe. 5°C is the difference between exhaustion and heatstroke. 5°C is another few minutes to enjoy that frozen treat.


Heatwave Preparation


As regions without a history of heatwaves begin to experience extreme heat (London, UK, in 2022) and as heatwaves continue to shatter records (Europe, Summer 2023), the demand for seasonal cooling will expand.

(Sub)ambient is a simple and deployable solution for emergency heatwave preparation. In cities like Phoenix, Arizona which rely heavily on AC and are at risk of grid blackouts, (Sub)ambient could save lives. Just leave it outside, and (Sub)ambient starts cooling down.










Special thanks
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Dharu Smaradhana
Prof. Koon-Yang Lee
Joanne Li
all ICL Future Materials Group