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Textile Wallpaper
Gathering unexpected inspirations, Tracy Kendall rethinks wallpaper. Tracy Kendall’s wallcoverings
generate their own patterns from shadow and light. They have textures that sigh audibly in a
breeze or click like ice cubes in a tumbler. Using hand-sewn sequins and crystals, hand-cut
paper, and bold but simple graphics, the London designer has become a pivotal figure in the
current renaissance of British wallpaper. “Tracy’s work is moving in a new direction entirely,”
design historian Lesley Jackson says, “treating paper more like a textile, weaving it, or creating
3-D effects by manipulating and involving the paper. That in its own right is completely new.”
www.tracykendall.com
Thin-Film Photovoltaics
Photovoltaic (PV) modules, also called “solar panels,” have come a long way since the ‘80s, when
the best words to describe them were: clunky, heavy, rigid, and awkward. Today, PV modules
have evolved to become graceful, flexible, elegant architectural design elements. This evolution
has been driven by new thin film PV material technologies. Crystalline silicon PV is the standard
technology for producing solar electricity. Each cell contains doped silicon material which captures
light wavelengths to convert sunlight into electricity. Silicon sheds electrons when exposed to
sunlight, creating an electrical charge that can be “harvested” and used. A new breed of PV
solar module, produced exclusively by Iowa Thin Film Technologies using DuPont Tefzel high
performance thin fluoropolymer film as an encapsulant, is helping architects explore ways to
integrate this technology into their structural designs. Architect Nicholas Goldsmith, FAIA, of FTL
Happold, New York, recently incorporated the aesthetic and environmental advantages of Solar
power-producing systems into a tent-like pavilion with a thin film PV membrane which diffuses
sunlight into fine, speckled patterns, and allows air to vent. Goldsmith believes this is the first
time solar cells have been used in a tensile structure.
www.dupont.com/teflon/films/next-gen.html
Translucent Fabric
Libby Kowalski has produced the first fabric made from completely clear extruded polymer yarn.
The resulting aesthetic is similar to woven drawn glass. So-called Krystal Weave comes in 54”
wide sheets, and is available in clear and translucent designs. It can be used as a fabric or in a
laminate form which may be produced in varying thicknesses, finishes and colors. Fabric uses
include window coverings, room dividers, shower curtains and pillows (from $65 yd).
www.kovatextiles.com
Varia
3form’s Varia encapsulates colorful hand-made papers, metal screens and woven mesh within
specially engineered, high-performance translucent resin, which itself can be embossed with
a variety of molds. A green product from the beginning, Varia is produced in a clean and
environmentally friendly process and is a recyclable material—fire rated for use in interiors with
half the weight and 40 times the impact strength of glass. Varia also outperforms all acrylic
resin-based products—it will not shatter, crack or discolor and can be contour heat-draped
to any form. Sheets can be easily drilled and custom cut to size and shape on site, saving time
and money on fabrication and installation. Varia can be used for partitions, cladding, tabletops,
and even flooring. With full in-house fabrication and rapid prototyping capabilities, 3form gives
designers fast sampling and technical support.
www.3-form.com
Wood-Faced Panels
Prodema S.A. offers natural wood-faced external cladding products which have evolved from
the manufacture of composite boards developed in the 1960´s from paper, resins and wood.
They have a variety of high-density panels composed of a thermosetting phenolic resinbonded
cellulose fiber core, faced with natural wood that has been coated with an acrylic resin-PVDF
protective finish, which ensures a panel colour fastness of 3-4 after a 3000-hour xenon lamp
test. Prodema panels are also specially designed to resist attacks by chemicals (anti-graffiti).
www.prodema.com/Ingles/Presentacion.html
Woven Resin
Xorel Surfaces are woven high-tech resins that look like textiles but are durable and as easy to
clean as laminates. Created by thermofusing PETG (a polyester resin) with Xorel, the end result
is a tactile, hard surface that is durable, cleanable and environmentally sound with no chlorine