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By Nancy B. Solomon, AIA

The team identified recycled paper from disposed cardboard boxes as the most appropriate biobased fiber for a structural application because of its low cost, availability, waste status, and contribution to the beam’s overall strength. Their research indicated that the addition of small amounts of glass fiber would improve both ease of production and the ductility of the resulting composite structure.

No matter how viable the material, a product cannot exist without a market. Wool found a likely candidate: the hurricane-prone housing stock of the coastal states. Referring to previous storms, Wool says, “It’s painfully obvious that the vast majority of damage was due to trophy A-frames. The vacuum created on the lee side pops off roof sheathing.” Without the sheathing, the structural and waterproofing integrity of the roof—and subsequently the entire house—is compromised.

 

Fiberglass stairway Fiberglass has appeared in buildings, but never as a structural element until architect Toshiko Mori asked famed boat builder Eric Goetz to fabricate a fiberglass stair for a residential project in Florida. Having created all shapes and sizes required in custom boat building (below) using CAD CAM technology, Goetz was able to apply the same methods to building the 26-foot-long stair. Images: Courtesy eric goetz (bottom); Toshiko Mori Architects (top)

The ACRES group has proposed a monolithic low-profile roof molded from biobased composites to eliminate individual components on a highly sloped roof. The roof assembly would be a structural sandwich comprising a 3- to 8-inch-thick foam core with skin and webbing of high-performance composite sheets. The assembly could be molded to virtually any shape with vacuum technology.

To explore the aesthetic possibilities of this roof concept, Wool asked industrial designer Elizabeth Linstrom of New York to design a nonrectilinear prototype. Inspired by Antoni Gaudí, Linstrom proposed an oyster shape. She notes that irregularities of the organic design can accommodate the natural irregularities inherent in casting biobased materials. “A molded roof has so much potential,” says Linstrom. She encourages architects to explore different types of castings, such as adding feathers to the mold or playing with light reflectance.

The next step will be to build a demonstration house. The ACRES Group has already lined up a structural-composite company in Delaware to undertake the fabrication. Because of the availability of resources and versatility of the material, Wool anticipates that, in about three years, biobased structural composites will start to find their way into a number of construction applications.