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| Issue date:01/12/2007 |
| ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel - Dec 2007 Issue |
| Source:Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel |
| by Staff Reaporters |
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| Newly developed specialty technical textiles, such as metallic and nonwoven fabrics, have led to a new wave of textile structures in stadiums, trade exhibitions, shopping arcades and covered public walkways. |
In recent years, textiles have become the latest kind of building materials for both mobile and permanent construction, often giving a stylish appearance quite unrivalled by a conventional building of cement and steel.
The term "architextiles" has emerged in the global textile industry, illustrated by an extensive portfolio of projects around the world with "softer" construction as well as firm metallic interwoven structures.
The emergence of "architextiles" is a result of cultural, economic and technological changes of the modern society.
Architects make use of the flexible nature of textiles to build a space that is more inviting and interactive to accommodate new architectural philosophy, influenced by post-modern theories of space, which is in favor of dynamic and interactive space. This is made possible with emerging textile manufacturing processes such as ultrasonic welding, advanced digital printing, and electrospinning, as well as newly engineered technical textiles.
Fabric technology channeling 60% of light
Based in the United Kingdom, Aura is a supplier in the field of tensile fabric engineering, for external and internal use. By exploiting modern fabric technology and associated structural engineering techniques, it designs and creates tensile membrane structures with architectural functionality.
Aura offers fabrics that are versatile, flexible, lightweight and translucent for wide opportunities of shape and surface enclosure, with the help of computer modeling. It has a life span of more than 25 years, depending on fabric type.
Fabrics of Aura are mainly made of PVDF/PVC-coated polyesters, PTFE-coated glass fiber or silicon-coated glass fiber (Pictured: Structure of fabrics for architectural applications) |
These fabrics are PVDF/PVC-coated polyesters, PTFE-coated glass fiber or silicon-coated glass fiber. Teflon-coated fabrics are non-stick and self-cleaning as far as dirt is concerned. Moreover, it is possible to heat or cool a tensile fabric building as some fabrics are laminated and have in-built insulation, while double-skin options are also available where inflatable sections provide effective "cushion" insulation. Overall building design can further improve the heating and cooling capability of the building.
These fabrics are translucent up to around 60% of the ambient light if a user wants. Their ability to channel light varies with components of the fabric and projection of light onto the fabric surface.
These fabrics can also be cleaned with specialist cleaning materials, but self-cleaning Teflon-coated fabrics are available. They are basically free of maintenance as the membrane does not corrode or weather, and no longer need retensioning.
TEXO is used to produce a required shape of a light-weight and light transmitting construction |
The cost of building a construction using architextiles differs with the entire construction design, site landscape, and microclimate such as wind speed and snow loading.
Regarding the supporting structure, Aura adopts TEXO panel system to establish facades and canopy structures. It is complimentary with the fabrics to keep a construction light-weight, light transmitting and maintenance-free, while the panels themselves are easy to install and can accommodate a wide sheet size.
In order to make its fabrics more accessible for users, Aura provides a streamlined and cost-effective approach by teaming up a number of partners, including Tensoforma in Italy, Alom in Malaysia and Flontex in Germany, to offer a dedicated specialist contracting team, who are able to provide worldwide sourcing, design, fabrication and installation services.
A mobile architecture, Airquarium, was built in 2001 using architextiles |
Synthetic textiles for mobile buildings
ContiTech from Germany supplies textile materials, including Vitroflex, for mobile buildings. They are transparent composite materials made of synthetic rubber and fiber glass fabric, used in light-weight and pneumatic constructions. They are ideal for cladding roofs or as window material. It is also bondable with other materials, resists weather influences in a temperature range of -20℃ and +120℃, and is tear-resistant.
Vitroflex is a Levapren-based material. Levapren is an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVM) material produced by Lanxess. Vitroflex was used by Festo AG & Co for the "Airquarium", one of the largest air-inflated transparent textile membrane domes in the world built in 2001. With Lanxess' Levapren, the 800-square-meter canopy weighs 1,600 kg and was easily transportable.
New metallic fabrics construct Beijing theater
In addition to "softer" construction, metallic fabrics are also increasingly used in the construction sector to give a stylish and elegant touch.
A recent example is the China National Grand Theater in Beijing, designed by French architect Paul Andreu.
A titanium-glass dome covers the concert and event halls of the Chinese National Grand Theater in Beijing |
In his proposal, the grand theater is a giant shellfish floating like a protective canopy in an artificial lake and will sit a total of 3,200 opera fans with a surface area of about 150,000 square meters. It was scheduled to open by the New Year of 2008.
For this project, Germany-based GKD developed a novel blended mesh for the Beijing Opera called Xinghai — named after a famous Chinese opera singer — made of aluminum weft wires anodized in two distinct shades of gold and hardly visible stainless steel warp wires.
A special mesh, Xinghaiwith aluminum weft wires in shades of gold and stainless steel warp wires were developed for arguably the most grandeur theater in China |
Few people were aware of GKD woven metallic meshes until it was first put into decorative use by French architect Dominique Perrault in 1993. A collaboration with Mr Perrault has continued since then and marked the birth of GKD's business unit, Creative Weave.
In the collaboration, GKD has explored differing applications for woven metallic materials in the fields of architecture and construction, given the materials' features of flexibility, permeability to light and air, fire-resistance, room climate control capability, easy cleaning, long service life, recyclability, and functional protection against the sun and draught. The applications include exterior facades; wall coverings; draped and suspended ceilings; column cladding; sunshades and canopies; gates; exhibit booths; retail displays; elevator cabs; stairs and balustrades; furniture and cabinetry; and partition screens.
Manufactured with noncorroding, high-grade AISI Type 316 stainless steel, the fabrics of GKD need meager maintenance to keep them looking anew. Alternative types of stainless steel, such as brass, bronze, copper and custom alloys, are sometimes chosen for specific environments.
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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| Copyright © Adsale Publishing Limited. Any party needs to reprint any part of the content should get the written approval from Adsale Publishing Ltd and quote the source "ATA Journal for Asia on Textile & Apparel", Adsale Textile English Website - www.AdsaleATA.com. We reserve the right to take legal action against any party who reprints any part of this article without acknowledgement. For enquiry, please contact Editorial Department. |
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