Tag: polycarbonate | ArchDaily

Exploring the Boundaries of Polycarbonate: 25 Exemplary Projects Showcasing Its Versatility

Fernanda Castro — Sat, 12 Oct 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Polycarbonate, commonly used in roofing and industrial cladding, has gone beyond its initial applications to become a material widely used across various architectural typologies. Its combination of strength, lightness, easy installation, and ability to allow natural light to pass through has made it an attractive option for residential, educational, and even cultural architecture projects. In homes, polycarbonate not only helps create bright and comfortable environments but also allows for creative use of translucency to generate private spaces without sacrificing visual connection to the outdoors.

From Wooden Shells to Polycarbonate Panels: The Materials Shaping Flexible Sports Spaces

Enrique Tovar — Tue, 27 Aug 2024 07:30:00 +0000

The Roman Colosseum is arguably the most iconic versatile venue in the world. Although this structure was not intended for sporting activities, it hosted various events, from the well-known gladiatorial combats to theatrical performances and the dramatic naumachia (naval battles). This demonstrates that flexible use of space has been relevant since ancient times. Centuries later, in the context of the ever-changing built environment and urban development, sports venues have similarly evolved, becoming outstanding examples of multi-purpose spaces.

Sustainable Heating: Explore 4 Projects Featuring Trombe Walls that Enhance Thermal Efficiency

Clara Ott — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 07:30:00 +0000

A Trombe wall is a passive solar building feature that enhances thermal efficiency. Positioned on the sun-facing side of a structure, it consists of a wall made from materials like brick, stone, or concrete, and a glass panel or polycarbonate sheet placed a few centimeters in front of it. Solar radiation penetrates the glass during daylight hours and heats the masonry wall. This wall then slowly releases the stored heat into the building during the cooler nighttime hours, maintaining a more consistent indoor temperature without the need for active heating systems.

Seeing Through Layers: Translucent Materials in Architecture

Enrique Tovar — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 07:30:00 +0000

Translucency, at its essence, is an optical property that enables the total or partial passage of light through materials, without providing a clear view of the objects behind them. Despite its apparent simplicity, this property has fascinating applications in the architectural field, generating attractive and powerful proposals that play with light without obstructing views.

Ecological, Lightweight, and Slender: Energy-Efficient Architecture with Translucent Polycarbonate

Enrique Tovar — Tue, 14 Nov 2023 01:30:00 +0000

In the contemporary context, global warming has marked a turning point in the way we think about architecture. We are witnessing record temperatures on our planet and a challenging panorama in many large cities, characterized by heatwaves and, in some cases, more severe winters. These circumstances have triggered a cycle in which the demand for heating and cooling systems increases, which, in turn, translates into higher energy and operating costs for buildings.

Building With Recycled Polycarbonate: The SaveEnergy Product Line

Rene Submissions — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 06:45:00 +0000

Sustainability is much more than simply deciding for or against a specific product. It is a concept that must be integrated into the way we build and design architecture, as well as the intelligent use of existing buildings and their potential renovations. From a sustainability perspective, demolishing an old building is just as unsustainable as building a new one. Both use large amounts of embodied energy that can be avoided when all planning parties consider new ways of working and collaborate more closely.

Translucency in 7 Projects of Contemporary Brazilian Architecture

ArchDaily Team — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 05:00:00 +0000

The use of translucent materials in Brazilian architecture has been a growing trend in recent years. Translucent laminated glass, polycarbonate and acrylic are just a few of them. They have different advantages and disadvantages regarding cost, impact resistance, and thermal and acoustic insulation. What outlines the common benefit between them is the constant dialogue they provide between interior and exterior.

Upcycling Polycarbonate: Trapezoidal and Corrugated Sheets from Waste

Eduardo Souza — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 02:30:00 +0000

Sustainability needs to go further beyond inspiring speeches and promises, with visible, concrete actions. In order to see this change, it is essential for individuals, companies and governments to take responsibility and act in a sustainable manner in their daily lives and practices. By taking into account the environmental and social impacts of their decisions and seeking more conscious and responsible alternatives, they can take steps to ensure a sustainable future for the next generations. In the construction industry this is even more urgent. Responsible for a large amount of solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential for this industry to adopt sustainable practices, such as recycling, to minimize environmental impacts.

Architectural Polycarbonate Systems: Transforming Daylight into a Powerful Tool

Valeria Montjoy — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 06:45:00 +0000

In architecture, the concept of daylighting refers to when buildings allow natural light inside to provide a number of benefits, from enhanced visual comfort and productivity, to improved health and higher energy savings. However, to reach optimum levels of sunlight, reaching a balance is key; while too much can produce an uncomfortable glare and tremendous amounts of heat, too little can lead to health deficiencies and a greater dependency on artificial lighting. In that sense, the qualities of polycarbonate panels are unmatched, becoming an attractive choice for facades and roofs by achieving a soft, diffused light with varying levels of transparency, brightness and opacity.

Why Use Translucent Polycarbonate on Building Facades?

Valeria Montjoy — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 06:30:00 +0000

Whether blending in or standing out, embodying transparency or solidity, expressing coarseness or softness, a façade is the medium through which we engage with architecture. It tells a story and can often set the tone for the rest of the interior. But apart from defining a purely visual experience, a building’s envelope must also be practical, durable and have the ability to properly manage natural lighting and ventilation needs. After all, by being the point of contact with the outside, it is responsible for mitigating sounds and providing protection from climatic conditions, such as wind, rain, heat and humidity. Therefore, when designing a facade, it is important to consider a balance between performance and a beautiful aesthetic. Of course, many materials successfully meet these criteria. But when it comes to creating a comforting, light-filled ambiance while ensuring resistance, ease of installation and versatility, the properties of translucent polycarbonate panels seem to be unparalleled.

How to Design and Install Seamless Translucent Polycarbonate Facades

Lilly Cao — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 06:45:00 +0000

Translucent polycarbonate panels boast unique and striking aesthetics while simultaneously maintaining efficient functionality. They can add depth and color to a façade and may adapt to meet a wide range of performance requirements, from temperature resistance to impact resistance to UV protection and more. Rodeca, a leading company in the polycarbonate panel industry, offers high-quality products with high customizability vis-à-vis colors, transparency levels, treatments, profiles, sizes, joint systems, and more. Below is a detailed list of these many options, accompanied by diagrams and installation steps. We also discuss several case studies where polycarbonate facades have been used to great success, taking full advantage of the options available alongside the intrinsic aesthetic qualities of the translucent panels to complement and elevate their designs.

Alice Medical Clinic / noak studio + acr arquitetura

Valeria Silva — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 21:00:00 +0000

Despite the purely urban context of the city of São Paulo, the project stands out for its implementation in the middle of a highly wooded road. This peculiarity was enhanced by the architectural project that respected the tree mass present on the site, matching its relevance to that of the old house that underwent renovation.

Expressive Polycarbonate: Creating Colored Translucent Facades

Catalina Valenzuela Cortés — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 04:30:00 +0000

Polycarbonate has become an alluring alternative to glass in facades, as it has different levels of translucency and can provide optimal transmission and diffusion of light. Moreover, it is light, flexible, recyclable, durable, resistant to impact, and includes UV protection, in addition to resisting temperatures between -40°C and 115°C. But beyond its functional properties, this thermoplastic also provides wide-ranging aesthetic opportunities, allowing architects to create unusually dynamic and expressive facades.

Fortaleza Subway Extension / Fernandes Arquitetos Associados

Pilar Caballero — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 16:00:00 +0000

Design for METROFOR - Fortaleza Metro, with nine stations of the Parangaba-Mucuripe line that has an overground track. This extension has three main typologies.

Polycarbonate in Architecture: 10 Translucent Solutions

María Francisca González — Tue, 05 Jan 2021 07:30:00 +0000

Composed of microcell panels, polycarbonate offers various solutions for the use of natural lighting in architectural enclosures. Whether applied to facades, interior spaces or roofs, the benefits of polycarbonate, such as lightness, clean lines, colored panels, and light effects, offer a wide range of design freedom. Microcell panel technology reduces the need for artificial light and favors uniformity in the diffusion of natural light, achieving energy efficient facades and the illusion of spaciousness in interior spaces. Below, we've selected 10 projects that have used polycarbonate as a wrapping material.

Forca Estudo Personalizado School / Pianca Arquitetura

Andreas Luco — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 19:00:00 +0000

Commercial building readjustment to receive the Zero Unit of the Força Estudo Personalizado - focused on school attendance and private lessons. The intervention focuses on parent care, multipurpose, living, and downstairs meeting rooms. Allocating individual study areas and collective study room to the first floor.

Polycarbonate for Interiors: 8 Examples of Translucent Architecture Indoors

Lilly Cao — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 01:30:00 +0000

Diversifying the materials of an interior space can greatly improve its depth and visual interest. At the same time, adding partitions or other delineations of internal space can help organize flow, circulation, and visibility. Polycarbonate, a type of lightweight, durable thermoplastic, is an excellent medium for both functions.

Structure and Translucent Cladding: How to Design a Greenhouse

Lilly Cao — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 07:35:00 +0000

Since at least as early as ancient Roman times, humans have recognized the value of what is now known as controlled environment agriculture, allowing farmers to cultivate plants year-round rather than seasonally. Though they were invented hundreds of years ago, greenhouses continue to be the most popular means of controlled environment agriculture today, with innovations in technology and design having improved both the beauty and efficacy of this typology. Below, we will explore in detail the history and structure of the greenhouse, as well as several examples of innovative and experimental greenhouse design.