ETFE - FOIL: a New Material for "Textile Architecture"

Lightweight structures have been established in almost all fields of construction within the last 30 years. Serving as piece of art or as functional roof, the three dimensional shapes in combination with light supporting structures allow unconventional architectural solutions. Beside the mechanical pre tensioned structures a lot of pneumatic structures have been built within the last years, starting with simple air supported halls up to huge aircushions. Pneumatic structures opened the possibility, to use other materials than coated fabrics for "textile architecture". Especially the use of ETFE-foils has become very common within the last years. ETFE-foil is a very light and highly transparent flour polymer. It allows 95 % of the sunlight and the full range of UV-radiation penetrating through. Since no load carrying weaving is inside this foil, the size of the cushion elements is limited to 30 to 60 sqm. That has been changed recently due to extensive R&D of the material, its behaviour, the manufacturing process and adapted constructive elements within the project Tropical Island with its 320 sqm cushions. It is not only the statics which is of interest for ETFE structures. In order to open complete new applications for this material the physical characteristics like U-value, G-Value, sound absorption etc. for all components have to be researched. The paper is addressed to all these points.