Thursday, December 3, 2009

This is so cool.

I have a list of things to blog about but I was reading my Mental Floss blog post today and this item had a reference to it. Concrete canvas.

Off the web site, this is how it's described:

Concrete Canvas Shelters are rapidly deployable hardened shelters that require only water and air for construction. The 25sqm variant can be deployed by 2 people without any training in under an hour and is ready to use in only 24 hours.

The cloth is draped over a framework, watered and pressed into shape and, in 24 hours, you have a structure read for use. It can be delivered and assembled sterile. It's durable and fire-proof. The web site shows many applications for its use.

I haven't heard of anyone around here using it but I can see great application within the construction industry for long-term projects, such as expansion of facilities where you're going to be at one location for years. I was just at a meeting last night with a hospital that is renovating and expanding. One of the complaints from the next door neighbor is that there are two shipping containers at the back corner of the property and they are unsightly. But, these containers hold materials needed for the renovation of the operating rooms which is an ongoing project slated to finish in 2012. Those containers will be there until the hospital receives approval to use the new rooms. If the hospital had built an undulating building using this canvas, it could be painted in camouflage colors to be less intrusive to the eye than two orange shipping containers. The home owner in question would still have something to complain about, but this could have been a solution.

I find this fascinating.

Beverage: Water

Deb

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