Description
Book SynopsisPlastics 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.
Table of ContentsPreface 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
