Photovoltaic concrete facade uses sunlight to generate energy

November 19, 2018 Rima Sabina Aouf 0

Concrete facades could soon capture solar energy to power buildings, using a prototype photovoltaic cladding developed by materials company LafargeHolcim and electronics manufacturer Heliatek. The product combines LafargeHolcim’s concrete with a top layer of Heliatek’s HeliaFilm — a flexible solar film that is just one millimetre thick. The companies recently tested the hybrid product in

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Anti-flood greenery-boosting Climate Tile installed in Copenhagen street

October 2, 2018 Rima Sabina Aouf 0

Danish architecture studio Tredje Natur has installed a street paving system in Copenhagen that aims to reduce street flooding and create green spaces. The Climate Tile (or Klimaflisen in Danish) is dotted with holes that allow it to collect and manage water, funnelling some of it into planted space alongside the pavement, to help stop streets

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MIT champions large-scale timber architecture with Longhouse proposal

August 24, 2018 Rima Sabina Aouf 0

Wood is the key to a more sustainable building industry, says architect John Klein, who has led Massachusetts Institute of Technology students in designing a large community centre from mass timber. The Longhouse is a 40-foot-high structure to be made from laminated veneer lumber (LVL), one of a new class of engineered wood products that

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Carrots could be key to stronger concrete

August 9, 2018 Rima Sabina Aouf 0

Concrete mixtures could be strengthened by adding nanoparticles extracted from carrots and other root vegetables, research currently underway at England’s Lancaster University suggests. Preliminary tests by the university’s engineers found that “nano platelets” sourced from the fibres of these vegetables “significantly improved” the strength of concrete — and at a low cost. The university now

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Oskar Zieta inflates steel to create Daliowa island pavilion in Poland

July 23, 2018 Rima Sabina Aouf 0

Polish designer Oskar Zieta has created a public sculpture in Wrocław using an inflated steel technique he plans to use for larger works of architecture. The Nawa pavilion is installed on Daliowa, one of many small islands in the Oder River where it runs through Wrocław. The reflective, undulating structure — composed of 35 metal

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