Need a semi permanent structure? Well this concrete cloth by UK-based company Concrete Canvas’s has just won material of the year 2009.
Once the cloth shelter is erected the hardening process is then started by just adding water. Originally designed for concrete canvas shelters the British army now use it to create fortified positions using sandbags and lining trenches etc..
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 key to CCS is the use of inflation to create a surface that is optimized for compressive loading. This allows thin walled concrete structures to be formed which are both robust and lightweight. CCS consist of a cement impregnated fabric (Concrete Cloth) bonded to the outer surface of a plastic inner which forms a Nissen-Hut shaped structure once inflated.
These concrete canvas shelters have up to a 10 year life, which makes it ideal for semi permanent structures.
Via MAKE
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