ETFE stands for ethylene tetra flouro ethylene and it is a new and innovative way to create amazing structures in buildings. This material has been around for a long time and was originally designed for the space industry but it has now started to show up in architecture as well.
You might remember it from the Beijing Olympics as it was the material used in the cubic swimming centre. ETFE as a material is really flexible and here are five great uses for it because of its many good qualities.
1. Create Easy To Clean Structures
ETFE material is a bit like Teflon in that it rejects dirt from getting stuck on. This allows you to use it in very complex structures that aren’t going to be easy to clean.
With ETFE material you don’t need to worry about maintenance as much because dirt and snow won’t get attached to the surface.
Any material that might get stuck is often washed away with rainwater and thus keeping structures clean is simple. For instance, big sports stadiums and skyscrapers can really benefit from using this material.
2. Restore Old Buildings
There are a lot of great old buildings that are just waiting to be restored. But often the cost is really expensive and the requirements for adding a roof, for example, are too extensive for the projects to go through.
But with ETFE you can actually get your hands on old buildings and plan a practical restoration. The material is so lightweight that it can be applied to a lot of pre-existing structures with ease. This lightweight property of ETFE means it can be used as a roofing material in old buildings because you don’t need to install a lot of additional support.
3. Bring Colour To The Building
ETFE material is also great because it can be created in many different colours. Adding some colour to public buildings becomes really simple and with the use of LED lights you can also make the ETFE cushions or foils change colour.
Business Week also says that it can have a matte or transparent finish. Therefore you can change the look of the building quite a bit by using these different finishes.
4. Let Light Inside
As mentioned above you can get ETFE foil in transparent form. This is a really nice way to allow natural light to flow into the building. ETFE allows light to get through but it is still a very good insulator so you don’t need to worry about the heat getting out of the building.
This transparent quality allows you to use ETFE in many different ways. It is, for instance, being used in the Eden Project to allow sunlight to reach the plants. You can look for more information about using ETFE foil this way from Vector Foiltec’s website.
5. Imaginative And Cost Effective
You are able to use ETFE material in many imaginative ways, just as the Chinese Water Cube proved. There are plenty of different projects under way around the world. The great thing about this material is that it is a very cost effective way to design and can thus be a great option for many different projects.
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Jacob is interested in architecture and is always looking for new ideas and innovations around the world. When he isn’t looking at new great projects around the world he is usually fishing somewhere in the country.