Plastics are high-performance materials of wide use in the built environment. Their versatile technical properties are particularly fascinating. A broad range of form-giving and finishing processes makes plastic especially interesting for complex geometries in combination with digital planning processes. Following the pioneering plastic structures of the 1970s, a number of spectacular buildings have in recent years highlighted the outstanding technical and aesthetic potential of the material.Until now, however, there has been no systematic treatment of the use of plastic in architecture. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an introduction to the structural and design possibilities of plastic. It introduces the material and its specific characteristics, describes various types of plastic in terms of their relevance for building, explains processing technologies and presents typical products and components. A concise presentation of twenty-five international built projects - organized by the type of application and the plastic involved - documents the broad range of plastic in architecture. Finally, a look ahead at the future describes the current state of the art in materials research.

Plastics are high-performance materials of wide use in the built environment. Their versatile technical properties are particularly fascinating. A broad range of form-giving and finishing processes makes plastic especially interesting for complex geometries in combination with digital planning processes. Following the pioneering plastic structures of the 1970s, a number of spectacular buildings have in recent years highlighted the outstanding technical and aesthetic potential of the material.
Until now, however, there has been no systematic treatment of the use of plastic in architecture. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an introduction to the structural and design possibilities of plastic. It introduces the material and its specific characteristics, describes various types of plastic in terms of their relevance for building, explains processing technologies and presents typical products and components. A concise presentation of twenty-five international built projects – organized by the type of application and the plastic involved – documents the broad range of plastic in architecture. Finally, a look ahead at the future describes the current state of the art in materials research.

Preface

1 The development of plastic architecture

PRINCIPLES

2 Material properties of plastics

2.1 Forming characteristics and the manufacture of building elements

2.2 Resistance to environmental effects

2.3 Mechanical properties

2.4 Thermal properties

2.5 Flammability and fire performance

2.6 Additives, fillers and reinforcing materials

3. Basics of plastics

3.2 Polymer structure

3.3 The morphology of macromolecules

3.4 The classification of plastics according to their degree of cross-linking

3.5 Synthesising techniques

4. Plastics and their manufacture

4.1 Elastomers

4.2 Thermoplastics

4.2.1 Types

4.2.2 Manufacture

4.2.3 Working methods

4.2.4 Recycling

4.3 Thermosets

4.3.1 Material components

4.3.2 Manufacture

4.3.3 Properties

CONSTRUCTION

5. Finished and semi-finished products

5.1 Solid sheets and panels

5.2 Profiled sheets and panels

5.3 Sandwich panels

5.4 Foams

5.5 Profiles

5.6 Special products

6. Building with plastics

6.1 Thermoplastics

6.1.1 Screwing

6.1.2 Clamping

6.1.3 Bonding

6.1.4 Welding

6.2 Thermosetting plastics

6.2.1 Screwing

6.2.2 Bonding

6.2.3 Dimensioning

6.2.4 Stability and durability

CASE STUDIES

7 Plastics as building envelope

Chanel Mobile Art Pavilion

Hong Kong, China; Tokyo, Japan; New York, USA

BMW Bubble

Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany

Kunsthaus Graz

Graz, Austria

Railway station Emsdetten

Emsdetten, Germany

Idee Workstation

Tokyo, Japan

Reiss Headquarters

London, United Kingdom

Fiberline Composites factory and offices

Middelfart, Denmark

Farben des Konsums

Berlin, Germany

Laban Creekside

London, United Kingdom

Terminal V

Lauterach, Austria

Forum Soft

Yverdon, Switzerland

Polymer Engineering Centre

Melbourne, Australia

Dornier Museum

Friedrichshafen, Germany

Congress centre and auditorium

Badajoz, Spain

8 Plastics as building structure

Plastic tower sculpture

Stuttgart, Germany

D-Tower

Doetinchem, Netherlands

Hoofddorp bus station

Hoofddorp, Netherlands

Roof Yitzhak Rabin Centre

Tel Aviv, Israel

GRP-Glass-Pavilion

Düsseldorf, Germany

9 Plastics as building structure and envelope

Clip-On

Utrecht, Netherlands

Eiertempel

Bern, Switzerland

Five Bubbles

Vienna, Austria

fg 2000

Altenstadt, Germany

Futuro

different locations worldwide

MYKO

Weimar and Rostock, Germany

Novartis Campus reception building

Basel, Switzerland

10 Future developments

High-performance material for supporting structures

High-performance material for building envelopes

Composite materials

Reinforcement of supporting structures

Joining technologies appropriate to the material

New production methods

Technology transfer

Glossary
Bibliography
About the authors

Acknowledgements
Name and building index
Subject index
Illustration credits

Plastics are high-performance materials of wide use in the built environment. Their versatile technical properties are particularly fascinating. A broad range of form-giving and finishing processes makes plastic especially interesting for complex geometries in combination with digital planning processes. Following the pioneering plastic structures of the 1970s, a number of spectacular buildings have in recent years highlighted the outstanding technical and aesthetic potential of the material.
Until now, however, there has been no systematic treatment of the use of plastic in architecture. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing an introduction to the structural and design possibilities of plastic. It introduces the material and its specific characteristics, describes various types of plastic in terms of their relevance for building, explains processing technologies and presents typical products and components. A concise presentation of twenty-five international built projects – organized by the type of application and the plastic involved – documents the broad range of plastic in architecture. Finally, a look ahead at the future describes the current state of the art in materials research.