Lightness: The Inevitable Renaissance of Minimum Energy Structures

Isn't it strange that something as obvious as lightness as a means of reducing energy consumption hardly gets any attention? Its innovative potential is enormous and there is so much to be gained.

Function depends on the trinity of material, shape and the process of making. The lighter constructions have to be, the more critical the balance between these three facets becomes and the more important the application of composite materials. Luckily we can learn a lot from the artifacts of ancient cultures, when lightness was crucial for a different reason: people had to be able to carry their goods themselves. The bow and the chariot are early examples of laminated composite constructions. Recreating lightness with the synergy of different materials is the main theme of this book. It deals with smart combinations of fibres and plastics, creating efficient shapes and freezing textiles, always emphasizing the supremacy of tension stress and the minimum energy examples that nature provides. Even one celled organisms already seem to know what mankind is still trying to invent. The Laboratory of Structures and Materials of the Faculty of Aerospace Technology of the University of Technology in Delft has done quite a few pioneering projects in the realm of composite technology. Their implications for product design and architecture reach far into the future of our world. Lightness contains many examples, good as well as bad, that show the way to building minimum energy structures. They can be found in industrial design, architecture, bridge constructions, sports equipment and vehicle technology. Among the described development cases are: a small airplane, a cooling trailer, a bicycle and even a flexible beer container. It will be difficult not to be inspired by what you will read and see. This book is published in cooperation with the Netherlands Design Institute on the occasion of the Theo Limperg Award, granted to Adriaan Beukers.