Surely you’ve browsed an online catalogue and been dazzled by the amazing page corner and turning animations. Environmental maybe, but it not as dynamic as the real thing. One of my favourite pastimes as a youth was to circle toys I wanted in the Sear’s Wishbook, and then I evolved to create cartoons on top of celebrities and underwear models. Such advanced features have never been made possible in digital catalogues, that is until Ethel Baraona Pohl developed her “paperless book” dubbed Peil.Skin. The result of two years of research, Peil.Skin demonstrates that new skins not only act as an isolating element, but also interact with the environment, optimizing energy exchange with the outside.
Featuring facades from Germany to Colombia, there are many examples that readers can visit with this publication. With international vocation due to bilingual English-Spanish text and a language away from technicalities, this “interactive toy” highlights the evolving field of architectural skin. The book allows travellers to take a virtual tour by incorporating features from Google Earth, whereby clicking on a given project’s coordinates will take you to a visually stimulating tour. This ability enabled Pohl to showcase the similarities and differences of architectural work according to location. So although you can’t make notes in this catalogue, or inject funny features in some of the works, Peil.Skin is a positive step in incorporating technologies to maximize their potential.
