Cool Building Materials - Insulated Polycarbonate and Corrugated Plastic

I mentioned the other day that some of my favorite building materials are translucent polycarbonate and corrugated plastic. Commonly used in industrial buildings, these materials are finding their way into home designs. I love the way they let soft light come through. They're simple, affordable materials that you can use them almost anywhere to really liven up a house.

Daylighting is a key element of green design that helps foster a bright space without reliance on electric lighting, and these materials are being used more and more to help let light pass into a space where a normal window or skylight is too expensive, where the view outside isn't the most attractive, or where privacy is needed. Translucent polycarbonate is UV resistant and has a decent R-value, is impact resistant, can carry snow loads, and is 100% recyclable. Note that these qualities surely vary from maker to maker, but there are some very high quality offerings on the market, like Pentaglas. Check out CPI Daylighting for more info and neat ideas. Corrugated plastic is cheap, UV resistant, and can come in custom colors. It's also fiberglass reinforced and strong.

These materials aren't just for greenhouses anymore. Take a look at some cool examples of them at work in modern homes:










Corrugated plastic as a porch roof on Mell Lawrence Architects Wild Haire Ranch house
Image Credit - Mell Lawrence site



Insulated translucent polycarbonate as large windows in the OMD Showhouse
Image Credit - OMD site








More corrugated as walls and doors on Herbert Enns' Experimental Cabins on Shoal Lake
Image Credit - Dwell Magazine site










Insulated polycarbonate panels on a modern house in Louisville by Coleman Coker's Memphis-based firm, Building Studio.
Image Credit - Building Studio site