Dec 19 2007
TranslucentConcrete is a new building material from Andreas Bittis that allows you to see through it while being fully load bearing.
TranslucentConcrete is a combination of optical fibres and fine concrete. Thousands of fibres run side by side transmitting light between the two surfaces of each element. Because of their small size the fibres blend into concrete becoming a component of the material like small pieces of ballast. In this manner, the result is not only having the two materials mixed - glass in concrete - but a third, new material, which is homogeneous in its inner structure and on its main surfaces as well.
In theory, a wall structure created out of TranslucentConcrete blocks can be a couple of meters thick as the fibres work almost without any loss in light up till 20 meters! Moreover, the blocks are load-bearing and provide the same effect with both natural and artificial light. Glass fibres lead light by points between the wall-surfaces. Shadows on the lighter side will appear with sharp outlines on the darker one. Even the colours remain the same! Such a wall with glass fibre-pixels acts as if scanner and screen are united. This special effect creates the general impression that thickness and weight of this concrete wall disappear.