Plastics: In Architecture And Construction

Plastics 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.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Engelsmann is a civil engineer; he did his studies at the Technische Universität München (Technical University of Munich). He also studied architecture at the University of Bath. He then worked as a research associate at the chair of Jörg Schlaich. Since 2002, he has been a professor of structural engineering and design at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design). In addition, he is a founding partner of the firm Engelsmann Peters Beratende Ingenieure in Stuttgart.

Valerie Spalding did her studies of architecture at RWTH Aachen (RWTH Aachen University). She has worked at a number of different architecture firms in Germany and abroad, including James Carpenter Design Associates in New York. Since 2005, she has been a research associate at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart; the focus of her research is plastics in architecture.

Stefan Peters is a civil engineer; he did his studies at Universität Stuttgart (Stuttgart University). He has worked at a number of different engineering firms, including Werner Sobek Ingenieure. From 2000 to 2006, he was a research associate at Universität Stuttgart, and he has been a partner at the firm Engelsmann Peters Beratende Ingenieure in Stuttgart since.