Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Instant Buildings - Just Add Water

Posted by Zonk on from the where-are-my-flying-cars? dept.

lawrencekhoo writes "Wired has an article about the newly invented Building in a Bag. The structure is made from cement impregnated fabic, that is sealed in an easily transportable plastic bag. You literally just add water, and then inflate. Twelve hours later, you have a ready to use building. Possible uses include shelter for disaster areas, and instant field hospitals."

4 of 519 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I have a "better" idea... or at least different by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Informative
    why not fiberglass?
    Fire? Last I looked, fibreglass burns. Nastily.

    Would make a good mother-in-law house, though - what better way to "cement" a relationship than with a load of flammable epoxy ...

  2. technique used for several decades now by idlake · · Score: 5, Informative

    Hard-shelled structures created from inflatable templates are actually quite common. Usually, they are made by spraying concrete or polymer onto the inflatable shell. Alternatively, you first pour on the concrete, then inflate (it takes fairly little pressure to do so). The lining is some combination of fabric and water/air-proof plastic. Some of the templates are reusable, others become part of the structure.

    Have a look at Domtec and Binishells.

  3. Re:I have a "better" idea... or at least different by Noose+For+A+Neck · · Score: 5, Informative
    Well, speaking as an engineering student, the main problem I can see with making a structure where all load-bearing components are strictly made out of fiberglass is that fiber-reinforced plastics (the catagory into which fiberglass and carbon fiber composites, among others, fall) are only really strong in tension, and even then, only along the axes parallel or close to parallel to the fiber orientations. If you add in compressive loads to the structure (as is sure to happen in any structure I can think of), the material's strength is dramatically reduced, meaning you either have to use a whole lot more material (and thus add more weight that the structure has to support) or switch materials.

    Concrete just happens to be very effective at handling compressive loads, and when reinforced with steel rebar or the like, can handle tensile loads in a reasonable manner as well. This is probably the reason that cement is used in lieu of epoxies and other plastics - it has better load-bearing characteristics under compression.

    --

    Software piracy is victimless theft.

  4. Re:*Second* prize? by finnhart · · Score: 5, Informative

    I know parent is modded funny, but I wondered the same thing. From the British Cement Association site:

    First prize of £3,000 went to Il Hoon Roh for his reinforced concrete organic modular system that impressed the judges for its visually exciting construction potential. The second prize of £2,000 was awarded to Peter Brewin and Will Crawford for their joint entry of portable emergency concrete tents. The humanitarian potential of this entry was very evident. Phoebe Cummings and Stine Vesperson were awarded the third prize of £1,000 for their delicate pieces that combined lace with concrete. The effect gave concrete, usually seen to be a robust material, a more soft and fragile character.