Polycarbonate in Architecture and Design: Styles, Pairings, Precedents

Move over it to light it

Finish

Light

Closer

ReadingsIn use 1970 to now

WeightLight

WarmthIn between

CostIn between

PermanenceIn between

PrecisionMachine-precise

CarbonAmong the highest

Making one kilo releases about 7.6 kg of CO₂: a petrochemical, light per square metre.

It saysDiffuse economyIndustrial translucencyLightweight utility

Best for: Skylights, Industrial cladding, Budget-conscious enclosures.

01The building that proves it

Laban Building

Herzog & de Meuron · London · 2003

Polycarbonate here: coloured polycarbonate over glass, changing with the light.

About the building ↗

02Try it on a board

Pick up to three materials to sit beside polycarbonate. The board shows the styles that use all of them, and writes a prompt you can take to an image or video generator.

Polycarbonate CLT

Styles that use all of themContemporary Architecture Sustainable Architecture

Setting

Scale

Light

Camera

Output

A house, on a dense urban street. Materials: polycarbonate that reads as diffuse economy, clt (cross-laminated timber) that reads as structural innovation. Golden hour, warm raking light. Eye level from across the street, 35mm. Architectural photograph, medium format, no people, no text.

03The styles built on it

Bowellism (High-Tech)Contemporary Architecture Sustainable Architecture

Also in these styles, in their own words

Blobitecture"Translucent materials: ETFE, polycarbonate: #E8ECF0, #D8DCE0"

04Questions

Which design styles use polycarbonate?

Bowellism (High-Tech), Contemporary Architecture, Sustainable Architecture and Blobitecture.

What goes well with polycarbonate?

Polycarbonate pairs well with structural steel, anodized aluminum and polished concrete.

What does polycarbonate communicate?

Diffuse economy, Industrial translucency and Lightweight utility. It suits skylights, industrial cladding and budget-conscious enclosures.

What is the carbon footprint of polycarbonate?

Making one kilo of polycarbonate releases about 7.6 kg of CO₂, cradle to gate: a petrochemical, light per square metre.

05More synthetic

Fibreglass Shell Carbon Fibre Composite Aluminium Composite Panel Tensile Fabric Perforated Steel Screen Vitrolite Porcelain Enamel Panel

Every materialOpen the materials sampler →

Marble Limestone Granite Travertine Basalt Sandstone Slate Structural Steel Cor-Ten Steel Titanium Copper Wrought Iron Anodized Aluminum Chrome Bronze Zinc Cladding Cast Iron Plate Glass Glass Block Leaded Art Glass Structural Glass ETFE Membrane Electrochromic Glazing Oak Teak Bamboo Cedar CLT Reclaimed Timber Birch Plywood Pine Fired Brick Terracotta Tile Adobe Brick Ceramic Mosaic Glazed Faïence Roman Brick Polychrome Brick Rammed Earth Hempcrete Clay Plaster Living Roof Substrate Exposed Concrete Board-Formed Concrete Polished Concrete Precast Concrete Panel Glass-Fibre Reinforced Concrete Sprayed Concrete Fibreglass Shell Carbon Fibre Composite Aluminium Composite Panel Tensile Fabric Perforated Steel Screen Polycarbonate Vitrolite Porcelain Enamel Panel