The propose paper presents an ongoing research which main goal is to use cork in a customized modular façade system. Cork is used due to its ecological value, renewable characteristic, insulation properties and aesthetic value. The modular system design is bio-inspired in the microscopic cork pattern and the study aims at reproducing in the façade some of the natural characteristics that enable cork to be suitable for the function it plays in construction. Façades are design by a generative design process based on a parametric shape grammar which encodes shape rules and an algorithm to guide the generation. The developed cork modules are part of a back-ventilated façade system which is assembled upon a substructure that reproduces the cork cell structure and enables both the assemblage of the modules to the support wall and the connection between them.

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• Physical Sciences - Natural Sciences