We
are continually looking for better methods and materials to improve
strength, beauty, efficiency and longevity of buildings and structures
of all types. In addition to some ‘traditional’ reluctance
to incorporate the new and different, making sure materials meet various
code requirements is also a challenge. Nonetheless, there are some
pretty astonishing technologies recently introduced or on the way,
some of them already in use and others still looking for ‘practical’ applications.
A few notable technologies and materials:
SmartWrap is a Polyester film which provides structure for ‘walls
containing solar cells for electricity, OLEDs for light, and a powdered
compound for heat. Curator at Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
comments, “Ideally, the only limitation to the type of technology
that can be incorporated in the SmartWrap is that it must be capable
of being miniaturized and suspended in printing ink.” One of
SmartWrap’s creators says, “Buildings are still being designed
using the same materials and process that were used thousands of years
ago. We can do better.” (as quoted in wired.com) It won’t
be commercially available probably for another three years.
The use of carbon fiber composites to build a 40 story skyscraper
with no steel, concrete, or conventional glass, as envisioned by Alvara
Siza (see Metropolis Magazine February 2003), may still be a pipe dream,
but a 269 foot high carbon fiber tilt-up tower just made its debut
in Utah, using a composite called Pyramatrix, which was created at
BYU. Conventional tilt-up towers can rarely reach above 200 feet because
of their weight but this product’s estimated potential is 341
feet, both because of its strength and lightness (each of the tower’s
15 spans weigh approximately 30 pounds). www.isotruss.com
LiTraCon© or light transmitting concrete, allows light to literally
pass through it. For example a person standing between the wall and
a light source will cast a precise shadow on the ‘dark’ side
of the wall.) Actual uses for it are still in prototype. It can be
seen currently at the Liquid Stone exhibition at the National Building
Museum in Washington DC. http://www.litracon.com
Aerogels, one of the lightest weight solid materials developed, consisting
of more than 96% air with the remaining 4% silica, is being used to
make insulated panels which have double the light transmission and
double the thermal protection of traditional. It is moisture repellent,
resistant to mold and fungus, stable in UV light, and recyclable, while
not easily combustible. Air and water filtration are other uses that
have been developed. More are sure to come.
New Solar cells: Several different major research groups have made
breakthrough discoveries in solar cell technologies. One group has
engineered a material capable of capturing and converting full spectrum
sunlight into electrical current at over 50% efficiency – well
beyond current capabilities of from 10 – 36%. A second group
using lead selenium nanocrystals claim to have discovered a method
approaching 60% efficiency. Neither of these methods will be in actual
use for at least 2 – 3 years.
Other efforts at improving solar cells attain much less efficiency
but will be cheap and more readily available. A number of corporations
are looking to introduce products using ‘printable’ solar
cells, for instance flexible strips laminated onto computers or cell-phones
to give them a continual ‘trickle’ charge. Improvements
in power generation for buildings is more apt to come from the former,
more efficient innovations…eventually.
http://www.technologyreview.com
Smart Dust: A form of miniature sensor with many potential uses, commercially
available form $5 to $1000 apiece depending on sensitivity and use.
It collects information and uses a battery operated microcontrollor
and two-way radio to relay information. Building automation offers
a considerable market - for things like lighting control, heating,
ventilation and air conditioning. Another major potential use will
be security, and inevitably privacy issues will also surface.
Superman: An ‘invisible’ cloak which projects an image
from beyond itself to appear invisible. Some are worried about the
potential criminal uses. But in buildings and for aesthetics, its uses
seem up to the imagination. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3791795.stm
Not all innovations are so exotic. The University of Maine recently
received a patent for a reinforced building panel that substantially
increases the structural strength of wall, roof and floor systems by
adding fiber reinforced polymer material to the perimeter of building
panels. http://www.aewc.umaine.edu
For a number of other innovative ideas and materials, visit
http://www.bdcmag.com/newstrends/top10products.asp - list of ‘Top
10 Green Products.’
http://cif.org – Products, technologies, and processes nominated
for ‘Nova’ innovation awards every year in construction.
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