Discover the textile possibilities

Techtextil has a very heterogeneous programme. How as an architect do I find the exhibition areas of relevance to me?
Our range of visitors extends from doctors, through construction engineers, to rocket engineers, as technical textiles are now used in almost all areas. 'Buildtech and Hometech are the focal points for the architecture/interior design areas, and have corresponding logos to highlight the exhibitors relating to them.'

What is exhibited under the name Buildtech?
Of particular importance is the topic of textile reinforced concrete. Using textile fibres concrete can not only be made lighter and more durable, but also flexible and translucent. In recent years there have been a great many research breakthroughs. Exhibitors also include numerous research institutes wanting to present fantastic projects relating to textile construction. One particular highlight is our student competition 'Textile Structures for New Architecture', organised by us and the University of Stuttgart. Here the focus is on innovative and progressive solutions. Another big topic are complex textile roof structures - such as the stadiums for the World Cup or the Olympic Games in Brazil. The right partners for such sophisticated architecture can be found at the fair.

How is the Hometech area different?
Here the focus is on interior design. Applications can on the one hand be decorative, e.g. the integration of LEDs into decorative fabrics. On the other, they can involve the room acoustics or indoor climate. Sustainability aspects also play a major role. However, unlike at other trade fairs, here the focus is on methods and possibilities rather than on finished products.

Which trends and product developments in textile construction will change architecture in the future?
The possibilities of textile-reinforced concrete in particular, especially light concrete, are far from being exhausted. Here in future there will be fantastic application examples - including in combination with traditional products from the home-textiles area. The second major aspect is flexibility. Structures in which textile composites such as carbon fibre or biological fibres such as Tencel are used now offer design possibilities that are entirely new. And the third aspect is 3D printing. It is currently still in its infancy, but technical textiles that can be processed in 3D printers offer tremendous potential, including for larger structures.

Does an exchange of ideas also take place between the individual application areas?
The application areas are interlinked with each other. One good example of this is carbon fibre. It is not a more environmentally-friendly material per se as regards disposal and recycling, but processes have been developed that can render carbon fibres recyclable. This has consequently resulted in its use in construction processes and in medical supplies. There have also been cases of institutes and companies discovering new textile fibres and presenting them at the fair without knowing exactly what could be done with them, and therefore wanting to explore the application areas at Techtextil.

Text: Katja Reich