Nanotechnology will have profound impacts on architecture and construction materials. At the nanoscale, materials can have very different properties than at larger scales, such as metals becoming combustible. Specifically, carbon nanotubes are being developed that are 100 times stronger than steel and can act as insulators, conductors, or semiconductors. These new materials will allow architects to rethink building design and construction from the bottom up. In the future, nanotechnology may enable self-cleaning buildings, variable transparency windows and walls, and structures sheathed in solar panels and wind turbines.

1. NANOTECHNOLOGY

2. Nanotechnology willhaveprofound
effectson thewaywe live.
Forthe architectureprofession,
nanotechnologywillgreatly
impactconstructionmaterialsandtheir
properties.
Materialswillbehaveinmanydifferent
waysaswe areableto more precisely
control their properties at the nano-
scale.

3. What is Nanotechnology?
WORD'NANOTECHNOLOGY' INTHE
1980‘S
NANOTECHNOLOGY I STHE
ENGINEERING OFFUNCTIONAL
SYSTEMSATTHEMOLECULAR SCALE.
NANOTECHNOLOGY' REFERSTOTHEP
ROJECTEDABILITYTOCONSTRUCTITE
MSFROM
THE BOTTOM UP, USINGTECHNIQUES
ANDTOOLSBEINGDEVELOPEDTODAY
TOMAKECOMPLETE,
HIGHPERFORMANCEPRODUCTS.
ONENANOMETER ( NM) I SONEBI LLIONTH, OR10 −9, OFAMETER

4. MATERIALSREDUCEDTOTHENANOSCALECANSHOW DIFFERENT PRO
PERTIES
OPAQUESUBSTANCESCAN BECOMETRANSPARENT( COPPER)
STABLEMATERIALSCANTURNCOMBUSTIBLE(ALUMINUM)
INSOLUBLEMATERIALSMAYBECOME SOLUBLE(GOLD)
AMATERIALSUCHASGOLD, WHICHISCHEMICALLYINERTAT
NORMALSCALES, CANSERVEASAPOTENT CH
EMICALCATALYSTATNANOSCALES.
NANO MATERIALS

5. Carbonnanotubesareagreatexampleofhowusefulmaterials
arebeingdeveloped.
Thismaterialissaidto beonehundredtimesstrongerthansteel
becauseofits“molecularperfection”:
Inaddition,becausecarbonatomscanbondwith other matter;
suchmaterial canbe an“insulator, semi-conductoror conductor
ofelectricity”.
Asaresult,carbonnanotubeswill havesignificantinfluenceon
thearchitectureindustryassuchmaterialscanactas
“aswitchableconduit,alightsource,ageneratorofenergyand
evenaconveyorofmatter”.
WHY CARBON NANOTUBES?
A new era in material sciences was started when carbon
nanotubes were discovered in1991.

6. IMPACTING BOTH DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
ASMATERIALSGAINSUCHTRANSIENTFEATURES
,ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNANDCONSTRUCTIONWILLEVOLVE.
BYTRANSFORMING THEESSENTIAL PROPERTIESOFMATTER,
NANOTECHNOLOGY WILLBEABLETOCHANGETHEWAYWE BUILD.
FORINSTANCE, STRUCTURESWILLBECONSTRUCTEDFROM
THEBOTTOM-UPBECAUSEMATERIALSLIKECARBON NANOTUBES
CANSELF-ASSEMBLE.
NANOTECHNOLOGYWILLPROFOUNDLYAFFECTTHEINDUSTRYOFARC
HITECTUREATALLSCALES
INTERIORDESIGN
,BUILDING DESIGN
CITYDESIGN.

7. NANO-ARCHITECTURE UNLEASHED
NANOTECHNOLOGY WILL GIVEARCHITECTURESUPERIOR
INTERACTIVE FUNCTIONS —
ALLOWING OCCUPANTSTOBETTER“ COMMUNICATE” WITH
THEIR SURROUNDINGS
WINDOWSAND WALLSWITH VARIABLETRANSPARENCY
MOOD/CONTEXT SENSITIVE CLOTHING
ARE JUST A FEW WAYS THIS WILL BECOME POSSIBLE.
NANOFIBERSAREUSEDIN SEVERALAREASAND IN DIFFERENT
PRODUCTS,
IN EVERYTHING FROMAIRCRAFTWINGS TOTENNIS RACKETS.

16. Under the influence of (UV)-light and water (humidity), nanoscale titanium dioxide
accelerates chemical reactions. This produces oxygen radicals that break down and
decompose organicmaterial.
This process, known as photocatalysis, is applied in the construction industry and
architecture to create “selfcleaning” building materials and to break down air pollutants.
When worked into cement or applied in a layer on concrete, the photocatalytic activity of
nano-TiO2 helps decompose dirt composed of organic matter, which is then washed off
when itrains.
Externally, the buildingsmaintain their originalappearance for a longerperiod.
“Jubilee
Church”in
Romeand
whosewhite
concreteshows
nosignsof
soilingeven
yearslater13.
SELFCLEANING
CONC.

17. THE"HONEYCOMB" STRUCTUREISADRAMATICFOC
ALPOINT OFTHEBUILDINGTHATRESPONDSTOSEV
ERALSIGNIFICANTDESIGNAND
ENGINEERINGCHALLENGES.
THE PATTERN WAS INSPIRED BY THE
FUNDAMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK OF
NANOTECHNOLOGY – THEINTRINSICALLY
STABLEHEXAGONALCARBONSTRUCTUREOF"G
RAPHENE".
The Waterloo
Institute for
Nanotechnology

18. SABANCI UNIVERSITYTURKEYNANOTECHNOLOGY
RESEARCHBUILDING

19. Future Applications for Architecture
On the horizon, there are many fascinating examples of
how nanotechnology will change the way we build.
Carbon nanotubes – paper-thin sheets of graphite
formed into a cylinder – are just one example of how
useful building materials are being developed.
This ultralight material is said to be one hundred
times stronger than steel because of its ‘molecular
perfection’. In addition, because carbon molecules can
bond with other matter, such material can be an
insulator, semi-conductor or conductor of electricity. As a
result, carbon nanotubes will have significant influence
on the architecture industry of the future, forcing us to
completely rethink the relationship between structure
and skin.

23. There’s nothing like a towering windturbine
He has conceived of a next-gen NanoVent-Skinthat sheathes structures in a shimmering solar
weave studded with micro-turbines. The concept takes advantage of a structure’s maximum
available surface space
NANOVENT-SKIN:CO2FilteringSolarMicro-turbines!|

25. THESI X- STORYRECTANGULARB
UILDINGISENVELOPED WITH AN
UNDULATINGHONEYCOMB- LIK
EFAÇADETHATIS
DOMINATED BYCOLORFUL
OVERSIZED WINDOW FRAMES.
THREEOFTHESEARE
OUTFITTED WITH WOODAND P
ROTRUDEFROM THE
EXTERIORWALLCREATINGAN
INTERESTINGEFFECT.THANKST
OTHELARGEFAÇADE
OPENINGS, THEINTERIOR
OVERFLOWSWITH NATURALL
IGHT.
LaTrobe University’s Eye-Popping New
Research FacilityAims forAustralia's5-Star
Green Rating