Some more news articles about ETFE.

Some more news articles about ETFE. 

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https://sgbonline.com/ucla-basketball-facility-incorporates-stadium-design-tech/

UCLA Basketball Facility Incorporates Stadium Design Tech

Posted by Carly Terwilliger | Oct 26, 2016

University of California Los Angeles’s (UCLA) new Mo Ostin Basketball Practice Facility will feature Texlon ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) skylights supplied by Vector Foiltec.

The Texlon ETFE skylights, most recently on display at the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium, are incorporated into the design and will allow in controlled amounts of Southern California sunlight. Acoustic comfort is another major factor created through the foil material.

Originated in Germany, Vector Foiltec engineers, designs and installs ETFE projects, helping create sustainable, cost efficient transparent building envelopes.

In addition to the high-tech skylights, the facility, designed by Kevin Daly Architects, will offer practice gyms, locker rooms and training areas for both the men’s and women’s basketball programs, as well as other athletic programs.

By creating a separate facility from where actual games are played, the overall experience for players and coaches is improved. There is less of a time crunch, allowing for more flexibility with both academics and athletics for the student athletes.

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https://archpaper.com/2016/11/los-angeles-rams-stadium-breaks-ground/#gallery-0-slide-0

Los Angeles Rams stadium breaks ground

By Antonio Pacheco • November 22, 2016

The new $2.66 billion HKS-designed football stadium for the Los Angeles Rams broke ground in Inglewood, California late last week, bringing the newly-relocated National Football League (NFL) team one step closer toward completing the team’s transition from Saint Louis to Los Angeles.

The stadium, designed by New York–based HKS, features a giant triangular roof supported by thick columns and made of ETFE. This super-roof also spans across an adjacent outdoor lobby called “champions plaza” to be used as a communal gathering spot for game day spectators. Los Angeles–based Mia Lehrer + Associates is acting as landscape architect for the project. The stadium has been designed to accommodate two professional teams and to seat 80,000 spectators for these types of sporting events, with the San Diego Chargers potentially lining up to use the stadium as their new home. The recent election dashed that team’s bid to fund a new stadium in San Diego proper, opening up the potential for the Inglewood stadium to host that team as well as the Rams. HKS has designed to the multi-use stadium to accommodate up to 100,000 spectators for concerts that utilize the playing field for floor seating and the stadium is also being considered as part of the city’s 2024 Olympic bid.

The stadium will be located at the heart of the new City of Champions district, a purpose-built mixed-use, entertainment, and leisure neighborhood being constructed on the site of the recently-demolished Hollywood Park fairgrounds. The City of Champions development has been under construction for several months and with construction of the stadium component of the development (a late-in-the-game addition to the neighborhood) now underway, plans are quickly coalescing around making the new neighborhood a focal point for the region. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has publicly endorsed the idea of extending existing light rail system to the stadium and plans are currently being developed to provide such access.

The stadium is due to be completed in time for the 2019-2020 NFL season.

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http://www.britishplastics.co.uk/materials/etfe-fluoropolymers-help-new-underground-station-set-sail/

ETFE fluoropolymers help new underground station set sail
by Leanne Taylor

November 11, 2016

11:57 AM

A new underground station development at London’s Canary Wharf is showcasing the architectural capabilities of plastics to create an aesthetically pleasing as well as durable design.

Being built as part of the Crossrail project, the new station sits 18 metres below water level in the middle of the waters of the former East India Dock, with the complex designed to look like a ship to reflect the site’s nautical heritage.

Three floors with shops and restaurants are situated below water level and above the waterline the building has further floors and a partly open rooftop garden. The station is crowned by a 30 metre-high and 310 metre-long timber roof construction covered with 780 film cushions, extruded from 3M’s Dyneon Fluoroplastic ETFE, which are illuminated after dark.

Dyneon ETFE was chosen for the film cushions owing to its resistance to chemical effects, tearing and damaging UV radiation. A durable and extremely resistant material with high mechanical strength, the cushions withstand hail, driving rain and high snow loads.

The transparency of the films was considered a significant advantage with regards to allowing sunlight and plant-loving UVA rays to penetrate through to the rooftop garden. For the film cushions used around the complex, the majority of the films were printed with various patterns in order to scatter the light with a delicate translucence in plant-free areas.

Canary Wharf station will open in December 2018 when Crossrail services begin through central London.

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https://www.dezeen.com/2016/10/31/carbon-fibre-orb-taubman-complex-lawrence-technological-university-detroit-michigan-morphosis/

Carbon-fibre orb marks entrance to Detroit academic building by Morphosis

Jenna McKnight | 31 October 2016

US studio Morphosis has completed a science, design and engineering facility in Michigan, which features a scrim made of ETFE plastic and an entrance stairwell contained within a black orb made of carbon fibre.

The A Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex – commonly referred to as the Taubman Complex – encompasses 36,700 square feet (3,410 square metres).

.   .   .  

The facility's east and west facades are sheathed in a thin scrim made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a fluorine-based plastic. At night, the diaphanous veil is illuminated by backlighting.

Elevated bridges link the facility to neighbouring structures.

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http://greenbuildingelements.com/2016/03/10/16417/

ETFE Football Stadium Will Soon Be Minneapolis Showcase

March 10th, 2016 by Glenn Meyers

When it opens this summer, US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis will feature the only ETFE (ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene) roof on a sports facility in the United States. This resilient and transparent material, long used in Europe, will now provide Minnesota Vikings football fans with a comfortable experience inside the stadium and a clear view outside, even if the outdoor temperature is far below zero degrees Fahrenheit.

In contrast to the preponderance of opaque domed stadiums in this country, some 60% of the Vikings’ facility has been covered with ETFE, not only letting in daylight, but allowing fans to gaze skyward and enjoy the view. Additionally, this dramatic stadium features five of the world’s largest operable glass doors, which can be opened if the weather outside is pleasant. These gargantuan doors measure 55 feet in width, angling from 75 feet to 95 feet in height, and weigh approximately 57,000 pounds each. Of note, the large door system also contains five smaller doors which can be used when the large doors are closed due to inclement weather.

.   .   .

Designed by Dallas-based HKS Architects, the US Bank Stadium features the largest transparent ETFE roof in North America, spanning 240,000 square feet. This will be the only stadium in the nation with a clear ETFE roof.

Vikings ETFE & cane IMG_6142Because of the angles of the roof, ETFE material on the south side accounts for 60% of the entire roof, while hard metal deck on the north side will account for the remaining 40%.

ETFE Basics

ETFE is a co-polymer resin which is extruded into a thin film. The light-weight material is transparent but can be treated to be translucent. It is durable and resistant to corrosion. In an architectural application ETFE is typically used in a multi-layer pneumatic system.

Longevity of ETFE

This material does not degrade with exposure to UV light, atmospheric pollution, harsh chemicals, or extreme temperatures. It has withstood extensive testing within extreme environments and is expected to have a 30 to 50-year life expectancy, requiring minimal maintenance. Presently, the true life-cycle of ETFE is not known, as the oldest applications are just hitting the 30-year mark with little to no replacement of system components.

ETFE Weight & Strength

us bank stadium 2 Berg-150707-0965Despite its light weight (1/100 the weight of glass) ETFE is reported to handle snow/wind loads well. In sheet form, it can stretch three times its length without losing elasticity. Support rods are used with the stadium roof panels.

Cleaning ETFE

The surface of the foil is non-stick and non-porous, which allows the natural action of rain to clean the surface. Deposits of dirt, dust and debris remain unattached and are washed away in the rain, meaning ETFE effectively self-cleans with virtually no need to clean externally.

As Amy Wilson has written on Architen, “Originally invented by DuPont as an insulation material for the aeronautics industry, ETFE was not initially considered as a main-stream building material, its principle use being as an upgrade for the polythene sheet commonly used for green house polytunnels.”

“The advantages of its extraordinary tear resistance, long life and transparency to ultra-violet light off-set the higher initial costs and 20 years later it is still working well. It wasn’t until the early 1980s, when German mechanical engineering student, Stefan Lehnert, investigated it in his quest for new and exciting sail materials, that its use was reconsidered.”

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http://www.designboom.com/architecture/oma-chicago-lcam-lucas-cultural-arts-museum-competition-07-04-2016/

OMA's elevated LCAM chicago museum proposal wrapped in transparent ETFE

led by architect shohei shigematsu, OMA‘s proposal creates a vertical gallery on the site and an atrium tower that elevates the traditional, horizontal galleries that accommodate LCAM’s three collections. the tower suspends the galleries above the city, but also connects them to it. lifting the main galleries enables the site below to be preserved as a new urban park, while simultaneously providing maximum flexibility within the horizontal gallery plate itself. the scheme sees the horizontal plate and vertical tower enveloped within a dome-like membrane that expands the museum’s physical and emotional presence within the city. this membrane—a cloud of ETFE pillows—creates a sheltered, lifted public space for chicago (sky park). like a park, it is freely accessible like an urban plaza, it is a flexible territory that accommodates a range of activities and in turn, evolves into a social space that engages the public to share and create.

the ETFE membrane is fritted to accept projections both from within and from the outside. inside the sky park, projections can be used as an integral part of larger displays and presentations. meanwhile, at the ground level, projects can transform the museum park into an outdoor or drive in cinema. the museum’s theater and lecture spaces are located at the base of the tower, allowing for separate ground level entry and expansion to the museum park at ground level. a series of escalators lead visitors up to the gallery levels and lifted sky park above. from these levels, elevators presenting views of the vertical gallery show visitors to the offices, event space and observation deck at the top of the tower. lifted, the building offers eight times the public space it occupies. the park space that surrounds the building—a flexible surface that can accommodate both grasses and parking. the museum park can be used for a range of public events and activities, casting the building as the backdrop for new programs for local residents of the neighborhoods throughout chicago.

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http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160518005426/en/Vikings-Football-Stadium-U.S.-Lightweight-ETFE-Film

New Vikings Football Stadium First in the U.S. to Use Lightweight ETFE Film Roof

3M Science creates an enjoyable environment year round inside the stadium by permitting outdoor atmosphere without frigid temperatures

May 18, 2016 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new home of the Minnesota Vikings, U.S. Bank Stadium, will become the first sports facility in the United States with a transparent roof, permitting outdoor light without weather restrictions. Utilizing material from the franchise’s Official Science Partner, 3M, the venue will be covered by high-performance film, extruded from 3M Dyneon Fluoroplastic ETFE (ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene). The product, which lets light in, is lighter than glass, and more cost-effective than retractable alternatives.

Open-air football stadiums are not often a viable option in northern climates. The Dallas-based firm HKS Architects designed the stadium roof using ETFE film cushion technology, which is already widespread in Europe and Asia, to enable year-round use for a variety of events. The design lowered construction costs by around $100 million compared to a retractable roof.

Energy Efficient Insulating Air Cushions Lower Operating Costs
The stadium’s 248,000-square-foot roof and facade is covered by 75 three-layer ETFE film cushions, making U.S. Bank Stadium the largest ETFE film project in the United States. Some of the individually air-filled cushions are more than 1,200 square feet long and about 32 feet wide. The top film is printed with a geometric pattern, which scatters the sunlight and prevents a greenhouse effect in summer. In winter, the film roof protects the interior from the cold outside temperatures.

The film cushions allow 95 percent of daylight to pass through, but their weight is only about five percent of the weight of glass. As a result, the supporting steel structure is light and slender, offering spectators a premium view of the playing field.

Designed for High Snow Loads
Since the Metrodome’s roof collapsed in 2010 under the weight of a 17-inch snowstorm, architects and roof planners paid particular attention to the load-bearing capability under heavy snow falls. Compared to other roofing membranes, ETFE films feature superior values for tear strength, resistance to tear propagation and puncture resistance – which let the air-filled cushions easily cope with highly concentrated impact loads like hail. Their use in northern Europe and the Alps prove their winter compatibility in areas with heavy snow fall.

U.S. Bank’s asymmetric roof inclines more toward the north to fend off the snow. The films are so smooth snow can hardly get a grip, sliding off in an almost controlled manner. A heavy rain shower is enough to clean it.

To learn more about Fluoroplastic ETFE, you can read about it here.

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