" According to Cynthia McQuaid: "Textiles are an incredible part of our world in ways we don't understand. Plastics were extraordinary and still are. Textiles have been overlooked." (Hales, 2005) Hales further relates the familiarity of technical textiles in the form of "Kevlar, Mylar, Gore-Tex, Teflon and Velcro." (Hales, 2005)
New on the textile scene is 'Vectran' a "muscle fiber made through a process of melt extrusion using liquid ctystal polymer pellets." (Ibid) Another newcomer to the textile industry is "Superline" which has a mass of 36.5 million polyester filaments and has enough strength to hold 4.4 million pounds. The Superline was designed for mooring an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Peter Testa, an architect from Santa Monica, California as well as the founding direction of MIT's Emergent Design Group has designed a carbon fiber building. Carbon fibers are being used for various purposes including the design of earthquake-resistant highway overpasses. Testa has designed a 40-story office tower that will be "knitted...of carbon fiber and composites." (Hales, 2005) According to Testa: "We are at a turning point...The science is clear in terms of the environmental consequences of the way we are building." (Hales, 2005)
In an article published by Market Research entitled: "Architectural Textiles: World Cup Showcase in 2006 and Beyond" it is stated that the 2006 World Cup 'served as a showcase for the extensive use of architectural textiles in Germany and in fact, many of the stadiums hosting the matches for the world cup "feature roofing and support structures made from high performance textiles." (Market Research, 2006) Hightex and Covertex, two of the world largest designers of buildings using textiles are headquartered in Germany. Architectural textiles are generally produced from woven polyester fabric coated with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) however; other synthetics and coatings are also used. In cases needing extra durability fiberglass fabric is coated with plytetrafluoreethylene (PTFE).
III. The FUTURE of TEXTILES in ARCHITECTURE
The report entitled: "Technical Textiles and Nonwovens: World Market Forecasts to 2010" states that: "Textiles are increasing their market share in construction and architectural applications, where their mechanical properties are equal, or often superior to traditional materials....
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