In confrontation with the massive mainstream technologies in the construction industry, research will tackle the issue of sustainability in the construction industry by testing alternative lightweight constructions. The well-known and still occurring problem of high CO2 emissions in the construction process is to be tackled by radically minimising the use of building materials. Air and lightweight foils will be used as the only structural and building envelope elements. The project utilises the principles of pneumatic architecture once widely explored by Frei Otto. The proposed self-supporting pneumatic structure, similar in morphology to air matrices, could be used as a nomadic or temporary emergency shelter. By combining materials with different properties, it will protect from wind, rain, sun and cold. The project, in which students will be involved, will be finalised with the construction of a 1:1 prototype. This will later be exhibited on the university campus.
Project team: Andreas Greiner, Piotr Fabirkiewicz
