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The Environmental Benefits of Inflatable Buildings

In this age of increasing concern for thethe materials required for an entire building
health of the planet it is more importantcan be transported in a single medium-sized
than ever to look at ways of minimising thevan thereby minimising the effect of
long term impact of buildings upon thetransporting raw materials upon the
environment and to investigate new methods ofenvironment.
sustainable  construction.
Thanks to initiatives such as the TexyloopTM
A new kind of building technology is emergingservice pioneered by Ferrari Textiles, the
as an environmentally friendly alternative toscrap material produced during the
conventional building methods. Thismanufacture of inflatable buildings can be
technology produces structures which arecollected, recycled and made into new
highly efficient in terms of the amount ofcomposite  textiles.
material used in their construction, require
no permanent foundations, can be relocatedThe inflatable buildings produced by
easily,  and  can  recycled.Tectoniks Ltd. have a long life expectancy
but when they do eventually reach the end of
The buildings in question are in fact a newtheir service they can also be recycled using
generation of inflatable buildings. These areservices  such  as  Texyloop.
no ordinary inflatables however. They are
designed using the latest CAD technology andAnother environmental benefit of inflatable
structural analysis software and arebuildings is that they do not require
constructed from modern, fire retardant,permanent foundations. Conventional buildings
composite textiles which are cut and joinedusually require concrete foundations which
using techniques developed form aerospaceare permanent and cannot be moved. An
manufacturing. This enables the buildings toinflatable building would typically be
operate at higher pressures than conventionalanchored using spiral anchors which are
inflatable structures producing much stiffer,literally screwed into the ground. If a
stronger  structures.building needs to be relocated, the anchors
are unscrewed and used again. The flooring
It's important at this point to make aused in the buildings is modular and can be
distinction between air-supported buildingslaid on top of the ground. It can also be
and inflatable buildings. A traditionalre-used  if  the  building  is  moved.
air-supported building is one which is
comprised of a single layer membrane attachedOnce an inflatable building has been moved,
to the ground around its perimeter. Air isthere is no lasting impact upon the site
blown under the membrane to lift it off thewhere  it  used  to  be.
ground  and  form  the shape of the building.
Another important consideration when
An inflatable building on the other hand,assessing the environmental impact of a
uses two layers of membrane connectedbuilding is the energy used throughout its
together typically using spars made from thelife. Because Tectoniks structures are of a
same material. The cavity formed between thewelded construction (as opposed to stitched),
layers is pressurised with air producing athey are virtually air tight. Conventional
rigid structural element which allows largestitched inflatables require high power
span  structures  to  be  achieved.electric blowers which run constantly.
Tectoniks structures require much smaller
The structures, pioneered by Tectoniksblowers which are connected to a control
Limited in the UK, are extremely weightsystem which only activates them when the
efficient and are highly portable yet theypressure in the structure falls below a
have the strength of metal-framed portablecertain level. The blowers then run for a few
buildings and can be made into virtually anyseconds  to  top  up  the  pressure.
shape.
The low power requirement for these
So what makes them so environmentallystructures means that it is entirely possible
friendly? Well, firstly, the majority of ato use solar power to provide the electricity
finished inflatable building is made fromrequired  for  their  operation.
fresh air. Analysis of a finished structure
shows that the amount of textile usedInflatable buildings also have a natural
represents only 0.5% of the volume of thelevel of insulation provided by the air
structure. For example, one square metre of acontained within the walls. Tectoniks have
500mm thick inflatable wall has a volume ofalso pioneered methods for adding additional
0.5 cubic metres but the quantity of fabricinsulation within the inflatable walls. The
used in its construction is only 0.0025 cubicinsulation material is flexible and is packed
metres. An inflatable building must surely beup  with  the  building  when  deflated.
the most efficient of all building types in
terms of the amount of raw materials usedIf the environmental impact of a new building
compared to the volume of the finishedis a major concern, then the benefits of
structure.using Tectoniks inflatable structures are
well worth consideration.
Since the textiles are supplied in roll form,



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