Brownell, Blaine; Transmaterial; 2005
ULTRAPERFORMING
Materials which are stronger, lighter, and more durable than
their conventional counterparts.
Beams/ Columns
Liquid Metal
In the same way that the inventions of steel in the 1800s and plastic in the 1900s
sparked revolutions for industry, a new class of amorphous alloys is poised to
redefine materials science as we know it in the 21st century. Welcome to the
3rd Revolution, otherwise known as the era of Liquidmetal alloys, where metals
behave similar to plastics but possess more than twice the strength of high-
performance titanium. Liquidmetal alloys were conceived in 1992, as a result of
a project funded by the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), NASA, and
the U.S. Department of Energy, to study the fundamentals of metallic alloys in an
undercooled liquid state, for the development of new aerospace materials.Arguably
the first major breakthrough in materials technology since the development of
thermoplastics, Liquidmetal alloys offer superior mechanical properties compared
to other highly engineered materials. Compared to crystalline metallic alloys,
Liquidmetal is much more resistant to permanent deformation from impact, and
3 times more elastic or resilient.
www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/technologies/liquidmetal.html
Smart Beams
SMI Steel products is an innovative steel manufacturer specializing in the
smartbeam, which is suited for long-span composite floor construction or long-
span roof applications for architecturally exposed steel. Produced with castellated,
hexagonal web openings or cellular, circular web openings, smartbeams operate
most efficiently between 30 and 80- foot spans. Smartbeams allow a more
flexible, column-free, long-span floor space at the same cost as traditional
short-span construction. The most common building types for smartbeams are
office buildings, mezzanines, parking garages, or any application utilizing a
suspended composite floor. Smartbeams superior vibration characteristics and
ability to accommodate mechanical services make them ideal for any composite
floor application.
www.smisteelproducts.com
Doors/ Windows
Ultra-Slim Doors
Tre Più is a leading company in the design and manufacture of top quality doors,
supported by the continuous creative and innovative contribution of renowned
names in architecture and industrial design. The Tre Più door is known for its
highly architectural quality and formal ability to re-design a space. The Tre Più
door has been conceived and designed to become an object whose distinctive
and original qualities enhance interior design. The Convex door was designed
by F.A. Porsche, the Milano door by Luca Scacchetti, and the Rever door by Cini
Boeri, Laura Griziotti and Guido Nardi.
www.trep-trepiu.com/porteeng/porte/index.htm
Glazing
Aerogel
Aerogel or Airglass is a transparent material that looks like glass, insulates
better than mineral wool and is more heat resistant than aluminum. The material
has many interesting properties and possible applications such as insulation
in windows and solar collectors, windows in firewalls, a component in air-
conditioning equipment, etc. Aerogel has outstanding properties, especially
regarding heat transfer. The material transmits about 88% of the integrated solar spectrum (thickness about 10 mm, or 3/8 inch). Aerogel is molded, giving the possibility of
getting different shapes: cylinders, cubes, plates of varying thickness etc. Chemically, Aerogel
is composed of quartz and a great deal of air, making it fragile. The grains of quartz are small
compared to the wavelength of light, giving Aerogel good transparency properties. At around
750°C (1380°F), it starts to shrink and slowly collapses to a piece of ordinary quartz. Aerogel can
be cut with a band saw and holes can be drilled with a metal drill. It should be noted that Aerogel
is non-flammable and non-toxic.
www.airglass.se
Cast Glass
Shanghai Kang Yu Jie Sens Cast Glass Façades exhibit superior clarity, the highest refractive index
of any architectural glass, and are suitable for use in interior or exterior applications. Cast Glass
Façades are superior to stone in terms of weather resistance, staining, and background radiation.
The product can be worked similar to float glass by bending, tempering, and laminating. The
glass can be cast to achieve sharp lines as well as soft organic shapes, and the thickness allows
for sophisticated multidimensional effects as well as a variety of color possibilities.
www.eastasiaportal.com/luxury
Lighting
LED-FLEX
The LED substitute for neon lighting has arrived. After two years of research and development,
Mule Lighting has developed a product that looks like traditional neon but is more versatile.
Uniform and super-bright light output is achieved through a proprietary optical maximization
technique which is completely sealed and impervious to shock and vibration. LED-FLEX is suitable
for wet locations and can withstand extreme temperatures. The product uses very little energy,
requires little maintenance, and is available in a variety of bright colors.
www.mulelighting.com/led-flex
Linelight
Developed by the innovative Tokyo-based company Material House, Linelight maximizes the
illumination potential of artificial lighting by channeling the illumination of a single light source
along a line. Linelight is comprised by a highly-reflective mirror housing fronted by an acrylic lens
designed for even dispersion, which is contained within an aluminum frame. Linelight accepts
lamps from 35 to 150 Watts in power, and will carry bright light 30 feet using only a single lamp.
Not only are fewer fixtures required compared with conventional point-source installations, but
maintenance is also simplified, as only a single fixture must be changed.
www.materialhouse.co.jp
Powermoon
Powermoon is a balloon-based lighting system suitable for road & railway infrastructure, outdoor
events, entertainment, military, and search & rescue applications. Powermoon is packaged in a
small, portable unit which may be quickly assembled on-site. Powermoon HQI lamps produce
five times more light than traditional tungsten halogen lamps for the same power rating, and last
from two to fifteen times as long (depending on the model). Powermoon lamps also produce less
glare, softer shadows, and a whiter light compared with traditional light sources. Powermoon
comes with a collapsible balloon and stand, a generator, an IP 67 control gear box, and a carrying
case. Powermoon does not require an inflation fan and is therefore noise-free and lower in cost
compared with other balloon-based lighting systems.
www.antidazzlelighting.co.uk
Mechanisms/ Substances
Metamaterials
The idea of invisibility has fascinated people for millennia and has been an inspiration or ingredient
of myths, novels and films, from the Greek legend of Perseus versus Medusa to H.G. Wells Invisible
Man. Dr. Ulf Leonhardt at Scotlands St. Andrews University has recently published two papers
concerning the potential realization of invisibility using modern MetaMaterials. DARPA states that
MetaMaterials are a new class of ordered nanocomposites that exhibit exceptional properties not
readily observed in nature. These properties arise from qualitatively new response functions that
are: (1) not observed in the constituent materials and (2) result from the inclusion of artificially
fabricated, extrinsic, low dimensional inhomogeneities. According to Dr. Leonhardt, the key
to achieving invisibility lies in creating transparent materials capable of bending light around
objects hidden behind them. While seemingly far-fetched, light-bending phenomena such as hot road mirages or water refractions occur naturally. Leonhardt claims that these phenomena are
possible because light will always take the shortest route, which is not always a straight line. All
you need is a transparent material that bends light around an object like water moving around
a stone. Theoretically, MetaMaterials created using nanotechnology, which is a necessary tool
due to the small scale of light waves, will soon channel waves of specific frequencies. Leonhardt
claims that there will be advances on both the technological and theoretical sides which will
make invisibility happen in the not too distant future. This is not completely beyond the range of
present technology and theoretical ideas.
www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/08/09/feature.invisibility
Novec 1230
3Ms Novec 1230 fire protection fluid looks exactly like water, but does not cause the type of
damage associated with water when putting out a fire. It can be used to protect rare exhibits,
electronic equipment and other delicate items without causing any harm. In fact, items can even
be immersed in the agent. The fire protection fluid will quickly evaporate, safeguarding these
items - and leaving them unaffected. Novec 1230 is a fluoroketone which serves as an advanced
halon replacement. The fluid has zero ozone depletion potential and the lowest atmospheric
lifetime for halocarbon alternatives: 5 days. (The closest alternative is 33 years.) It also has a
Global Warming potential of 1, 99.9% lower than any halocarbon agent acceptable for use in
occupied spaces. Extinguishing via its cooling effect, Novec 1230 fluid works as a gas, yet it is a
liquid at room temperature. Because it is not stored or shipped from the factory in pressurized
cylinders, Novec 1230 fluid is easy to handle and charge. Novec 1230 fluid systems allow for more
efficient use of space, requiring about the same number of cylinders as conventional halocarbon
agents. Novec 1230 fluid also has the greatest margin of safety for use in occupied sp