The Potential Benefits of Nanotechnology for
Innovative Solutions in the Construction Sector
F.H. Halicioglu1
Abstract. The world of the construction sector is being changed by new technologies, new materials, new building typologies, new concerns and opportunities.
The construction sector has been slow to embrace nanotechnology, but nanotech
innovations have an enormous impact on building design and construction.
Nanotechnology represents a major opportunity for the construction sector to
develop new products, substantially increase quality, and open new markets. The
paper aims to describe and examine the potential benefits of nanotechnology for
innovative solutions in the construction sector. It offers a possibility of a revised
understanding of the relationship between nanotechnology and the building design
and construction in the understanding of innovative approaches.
1 Introduction
Nanotechnology has the potential to transform the built environment in ways
almost unimaginable today. Nanotechnology is already employed in the
manufacture of everyday items from sunscreen to clothing, and its introduction to
architecture is not far behind. On the near horizon, it may take building enclosure
materials (coatings, panels and insulation) to dramatic new levels of performance
in terms of energy, light, security and intelligence. Even these first steps into the
world of nanotechnology could dramatically alter the nature of building enclosure
and the way our buildings relate to environment and user. At mid-horizon, the
development of carbon nanotubes and other breakthrough materials could
radically alter building design and performance [3]. Novel construction materials
could result from the application of nano-technology (e.g. through the use of nanoparticles, nano-tubes and nano-fibres), offering new combinations of strength,
durability and toughness. Examples are bio-mimetic materials based on structures
and compounds found in nature, composites with self adjusting interfaces, shapememory, self-repairing and strain hardening materials [13].
F.H. Halicioglu
Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Architecture, Izmir, Turkey
e-mail: [email protected]
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F.H. Halicioglu
If nanotechnology is to change how we design and how we live, then a study of
nanotechnology’s implications for architecture is clearly needed. Many nanoengineered materials are already available to architects and builders, and are
beginning to transform our buildings. Looking further ahead, nanotechnologies
now in research and development will likely have a significant impact on building
within the next twenty years. For example, carbon nanotubes, fifty to one hundred
times stronger than steel at one-sixth of the weight, could bring unprecedented
strength and flexibility to our buildings. On the far horizon, the full impact of
nanotechnology on our lives and our environment into the next century and
beyond is impossible to predict but important to consider [4].
With a view to executing significant innovations in nanotechnology,
specifically in the construction sector, it is necessary to do research in their
development. The paper aims to describe and examine the potential benefits of
nanotechnology for innovative solutions in the construction sector. It offers a
possibility of a revised understanding of the relationship between nanotechnology
and the building design and construction in the understanding of innovative
approaches.
2 Nanotech Innovations in Building Construction and Potential
Benefits of Nanotechnology for Innovative Solutions in
Construction Sector
Innovations with nanotechnologies in construction sector depend on technological
developments. Nanotechnology has the potential to create radical innovations in
buildings. Since materials are construction’s core business the sector is expected
to be an important beneficiary of nanomaterials [1]. Already, dozens of
nanomaterials are available in the architectural marketplace, yet their chemistry,
performance capabilities, environmental and health effects, costs, risks and
benefits remain a mystery to most designers. Some, for example, may be familiar
with the self-cleaning windows marketed by PPG, Pilkington and others, or with
the depolluting or “smog-eating” concrete used in Richard Meier’s Jubilee Church
(Fig. 1), but only a handful could cite titanium dioxide nanoparticles as the
material that makes these marvels possible. The wide range of nanocoatings
available today are also relatively unknown despite their promising potential to
dramatically improve insulation, kill bacteria, prevent mildew, and reduce
maintenance and environmental harm [4].
Nanotechnology will result in a unique next generation of bio-products that have
hyper-performance and superior serviceability. These products will have strength
properties now only seen with carbon-based composites materials. These new
hyper-performance bioproducts will be capable of longer service lives in severe
moisture environments. Enhancements to existing uses will include development of
resin-free biocomposites or wood-plastic composites having enhanced strength and
serviceability because of nanoenhanced and nanomanipulated fiber-to-fiber and
The Potential Benefits of Nanotechnology for Innovative Solutions
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Fig. 1 Church Dio Padre Misericordioso (Jubilee Church), Rome, Richard Meier 2003 [2]
fiber-to-plastic bonding. Nanotechnology will allow the development of intelligent
wood- and biocomposite products with an array of nanosensors to measure forces,
loads, moisture levels, temperature, pressure, and chemical emissions [14].
Two nano-sized particles that stand out in their application to construction
materials are titanium dioxide (TiO2) and carbon nanotubes (CNT’s). The former
is being used for its ability to break down dirt or pollution and then allow it to be
washed off by rain water on everything from concrete to glass and the latter is
being used to strengthen and monitor concrete. CNT’s though, have many more
properties, apart from exceptional strength, that are being researched in
computing, aerospace and other areas and the construction industry will benefit
directly or indirectly from those advancements as well [9].
Fig. 2 Structure of the
nanoporous SiO2 network of
silica aerogel [12]
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F.H. Halicioglu
Fig. 3 The Nanohouse Initiative [5]
Silica aerogel is a translucent material consisting of a nanostructured SiO2
network (Fig. 2) with a porosity of up to 99%. Silica aerogel is a promising
material for applications in building envelopes because of its high visual
transmittance and its low thermal conductivity [7] Besides its low thermal
conductivity the aerogel is load bearing which makes it attractive for evacuated
transparent insulation applications. An interesting application for aerogels in
buildings is in evacuated solar collectors [11, 12].
The Nanohouse Initiative (Fig. 3) is a collaboration between the best of
Australia's scientists, engineers, architects, designers and builders - working
together to design and build a new type of ultra-energy efficient house and
exploiting the new materials being developed by nanotechnology [5]. The
NanoHouse Initiative, conceived in 2002 by Dr Carl Masens at the Institute
for Nanoscale Technology and visualised and implemented by architect James
Muir, has proven a successful method of explaining what nanotechnologies are
Fig. 4 The Carbon Tower Prototype [8]
The Potential Benefits of Nanotechnology for Innovative Solutions
213
and how they work; for example, how the latest technology windows clean
themselves, how tiles might resist build up of soap scum, or timber surfaces resist
UV damage [10].
The Carbon Tower Prototype (Fig. 4) is a 40-story mixed-use high-rise that
incorporates five innovative systems: pre-compressed double-helix primary
structure, tensile-laminated composite floors, two external filament-bound ramps,
breathable thin-film membrane, and vritual duct displacement ventilation. Studies
conducted by Arup suggest that, if built, the tower would the lightest and strongest
building of its type [6].
3 Conclusions
Nanotech innovations represent the application of nanotechnologies in the field of
materials science and engineering and have a great impact on construction sector.
All of these potential uses and benefits of nanotechnology in construction, as
described above, will play a key role in innovative approaches used in new
building design and construction.
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