-Minnesota Vikings new football stadium to be completed in 2016 and to host the Superbowl in 2018 made of ETFE.
-Largest ETFE roof in North America and 1st and only stadium in U.S. with a clear roof.
-240,000 square feet roof

-Steel:
*strong, tough, durable, versatile, protected with coatings: galvanization, powder coating, painting
*350 tons of steel produced each 30 minute cycle but 57,000 gallons water per 1 ton steel for production
*easily separated from waste stream due to magnetic properties
*highly recyclable 2200 lbs recycled steel saves 3300 ore, 11000 coal, 75% energy to make
*Bad quarrying conditions for workers can lead to pulmonary diseases from mining
-Glass:
*high strength, durable, colors, reflective
*Continuous heat process for glass furnace but energy efficient production process
*Lots of water used for cooling process and washing recycled glass
*Non-toxic glass finish
*Construction glass typically ends up in landfills
*SO2 from fuel/decomposting of sulfate can contribute to acidifcation and formation of smog
-Artificial Turf:
*High strength, durable
grass is nylon or polypropylene and cushion systems infill is rubber components/ polyester/foam/rubber tires
*tire rubber scrap volatilize in air and leach into percolating rainwater
*water used to wet field before
play
*hygiene of sweaty athletes
*dyes/toxins to make colored fields

-New lightweight steel is dramatically changing the market and it will continue to do so. although the process is still oil-based, the amount of steel that can and is recycled over and over again helps to offset that value. there is also no other materials that have the strength and intensity need to space a couple 100 yards for sports stadiums. steel is the only option.
-Fiberglass has great properties but not the best production processes from renewable resources. I think there is still something out there better for the environment for glass. I think this is in the right direction.
-Buffalo grass is good for residences but organic turf is great for sports fields! This is a recommendation due to highly recyclable coconut fibers and cork. The production processes are less harmful for the environment and the infill is better for humans to be around and less toxic especially in terms of rain water run-on. The cost savings of Geo turf are huge! I would love to play on this Geo turf field
-Having a LCA is key in knowing whether or not to pick a certain material. A more sustainable material at first glance may not be when looking at the production process or raw materials extraction.
-All processes are looking to become more sustainable. Steel is a more sustainable process than it used to be and now creates a material half the weight of what it used to be. Fiberglass is not yet a fully sustainable process but using fiberglass fenestration has great advantages that currently outweigh the not-so-sustainable process. Turf is a sustainable process but this is still a newer concept and many options are available for the field and infill systems while decreasing yearly costs immensely.

-Michael Pawlyn did a Ted Talk entitled "Using Nature's Genius in Architecture He talked about resource efficiency ideas from biology and how we can use nature for design.
-Looking at pollen grains and carbon molecules for efficient structural solutions we can use hexagons and pentagons to maximize design efforts. But how can we then maximize the hexagon? What is an alternative due to the limited glass use?
-Pressured membrances ETFE Ethylene Tetrafluroethylene is a fluorine based high strength polymer of 3 layers, welded edges and then inflated with air.
-It is designed for high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range, high melting temperature, excellent chemical, electrical and high energy radiation resistances properties.
-UV light, environmental pollution and harsh chemicals will not degrade it.
-Surface is non-stick and non-porous, dirt and dust will not attach itself, rain acts as a cleaning agent, somewhat self-cleaning
-Can be used in units 7x the size of glass with 1% the weight of double glazing.
-Less steel is needed as an overall structure so more sunlight can be let in and therefore less extra heat is needed in the winter time.
-Overall the structure weights less and provides big $$$ savings in foundation costs.
-The weight of the structures weighs less than the weight of the air in the building.

-Vented cavity typical operation allows sunlight through for natural daylighting, fresh external air is preheated in the cavity and released into the internal area.
-In summer the hot air in the cavity can be vented to the outside, the ETFE can be switched on or off to avoid glare and heat of the sun.
-ETFE was introduced 30 years ago so the life expectancy of this as a roof is an estimate based on the oldest examples.
-Expected to last 30-50 years with minimal maintenance.
-One of Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympic venues, the National Aquatic Center, is also called the Water Cube and their ETFE deisgn is based on the geometric structure of soap bubbles.

-Skylar Tibbits, MIT researcher, artist, computational architect, TED fellow and an undergraduate architecture studio co-habitator on 4D -Printing he is developing at MIT.
-4D Printing entails multi-material prints provided by the Connex Technology with the capability to transform from one shape to another, directly off the print-bed. This revolutionary technique offers a streamlined path from idea to reality with full functionality built directly into the materials. Imagine robotics-like behavior without the reliance on complex electro-mechanical devices.
-The way we build structures has become more sophisticated but the materials used are static and waiting for us to fit them to the required shape.
-What if those shapes assembled themselves or changed to the shape they are needed to be? With 4D printing we may be able to build things that can adapt to our use or the environment around them.
-This technology will lead to more resilient and lighter structures responding to the world around us.
-Currently they are working with the environmental reactor of water and when this material is introduced to water it folds up.
-Adaptive water piping and infrastructural systems are made possible that could expand and contract on demand and regulate flow. There smart materials respond to the activation of water.

-Demonstration of self-assembly and molecular chirality, or right-handed and left-handed patterns of attraction. Opposing attraction patterns in the self-assembly units allowed for the parts to sort themselves when combined and shaken randomly.
-Cities, buildings and manufacturing processes that are more resilient, that can make decisions on demand and that can construct themselves more actively from a dynamic environment are needed.
-How can we get buildings to be more resilient and adapt on their own? There is a potential for more lean structures and systems that do not need to be over engineered.
-Manufacturing could be more growing and responding, like chiral self assembly, rather than forcing things together with screw drivers, hammers and super expensive machines with brute force.
-The 4th dimension is responding to time and adapting to conditions. They are working on printing robotics without wires or motors that can be programmable and transformable right from the get go.

-In an increasingly urbanized society, the urban environment's quality becomes one of the main targets of a sustainable development.
-Microclimate is a fundamental aspect of human comfort designing and designing in-between spaces. Climate adaption is an essential architectural goal.
-The feeling of comfort is the expression of an individual’s
well-being in their environment. The perceived space is always a reduction of the real space. The human perception system utilizes filters to analyse a space. For the same urban environment, comfort can vary according
to a combination of people's physical, physiological,
psychological, sociological and cultural factors.
-The indoor environment can have a significant impact on comfort, health, and overall sense of well being. The indoor environment of buildings should be designed and controlled, as to provide a comfortable and healthy space for occupants. In order to maintain the quality of the indoor environment, we mechanically condition our buildings to achieve constant, uniform and comfortable environments. The maintenance of thermal equilibrium between the human body and its environment is one of the primary requirements.
-Design considerations for human comfort:
*modifying its micro-climate by adaption one of its physical parameters (solar radiation or wind)
*stimulating adapted activities
*increasing perceived controls such as parasols
*proposing climatic atmospheres in the same place (shade and sun, wind and shelter)
*creating transition spaces between different zones
*increasing its naturality through vegetation or environmental stimulation

-ETFE as previously mentioned will be used to decrease the overall material intensity while providing human comfort naturally. The heated air is stored in the inflated material until it is needed to heat the inside or released to the outside.
-Self-assembly materials will be great to use when their reactions to water become patterned. My thoughts for this are to be used for roofs and exteriors of open stadiums. The roof will be open to allow natural sunlight to reach the patrons underneath. When it rains the water hitting the 4D printed material will cause that "roof" to move an organized and programmed direction to create a shelter for the patrons below. When this technology becomes real, I also have an idea for the printed materials to have a reaction with other natural elements. For example if the material becomes too hot, leaving the patrons below really hot, the material will fold and move in a programmed manner as it did with the water and create a shade for the patrons below. This technology will allow buildings to take the full use of biomimicry and really mock nature.
-Biomimicry of a whale's anatomy is being used for wind turbines. Whales dive 100s of feet below the surface and stay there for hours. They power their movements with efficient fins and their tail due to the bumps on the front edge of their fin. The bumps increase its efficiency by reducing drag 32% and increasing lift 8%. Whale Power company is using this concept and creating wind turbine blades that boost the amount of energy created.
-Piezoelectricity transforms kinetic energy into electrical current and works with systems from energy-generating railways to electron circuilts that recycle wasted head. These systems, currently in use in italy and Israel, can be implemented in the stadium. Piezoelectricty places sensors under patrons feet and the vibrations produced would be converted into electricity, powering simple systems such as signs and lights.

-There are many advantages of ETFE over Glass
-ETFE is only 350g/m2 under the weight condition t=200µm. It is super light weight that requires less strucutral steel to support it, less materials results in much lighter carbon footprint. There are greater design capabilities due to the lightweight and flexibility of the ETFE. Unlike glass it is shatterproof with no sharp shards or jagged edges to be tampered with.
-ETFE has excellent light transmission that produces a bright and open space that can emulate the outdoors. Due to high transmittance of daylight, light costs can be reduced which in turn contributes to saving energy. With ETFE you can control the light transmittance.
-ETFE is super durable with self-cleaning properties. It is highly resistant to chemical damage, resilient to wild weather and can last over 20 years while retaining it's transparency and self-cleaning capabilities.
-Insulation properties are great with the 2 or 3 layers providing immense insulation
-ETFE is eco-friendly, recyclable and can be taken from any structure and put back into ETFE products.
-It is fire resistant and comes in many types of film with different designs for transparency.

-Partnerships with energy companies are key and a win-win situation for both parties.
-NRG Solar is one of the largest developers of utility-scale and commercial solar power in the United States.
-NRG partners with football stadiums to make the stadiums more energy-efficient creating a better image and financial savings overall for the stadium corporation.
-2012 MetLife Stadium and NRG Solar partnered to install a solar panels ring above the stadium catwalk. The ring generates 350,000 kW hours of electricity annually which is equivalent to
*Taking 53 cars off the road each year
*Powering 34 average residential homes per year
*Saving 30,478 gallons of gasoline each year
*Saving 632 barrels of oil per year
*Saving 11,328 cylinders of propane per year
*Saving 1.5 railcars of coal per year
-NRG also partnered with Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles) to install over 11,000 solar panels and 14 micro wind-turbines. The combined annual production is more than 4 times the power consumed during a season of home game days. Fixed solar panels in the parking lot generate the bulk of renewable power. This is the largest solar array in any pro football stadium.
-NRG has also partnered with FedExField in MD and Patriot Place in MA.
-Green Sports Alliance was founded in 2010 by 6 sports teams, including the Seahawks, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
-Sports teams benefit from collaboration but also compete with each other in the green sphere just like on the field. Teams want to be the "greenest" and will continuous roll out improvements to get there.

-The new technologies being developed are proving that anything is possible in terms of new ideas and inventions. With materials being able to react to natural elements of the environment and using biomimicry, we are getting back to our roots and creating a much better world for everything in it.
-Human comfort is key in making infrastructure systems and buildings. When human comfort can be taken into account in the design schematic phase along with biomimicry and green science technologies, better designs and processes will also be developed and improved.
-Partnerships need to be made between key players in the built infrastructure/entertainment industry and those renewable resources and technologies that support them.
-If these 3 ideas are kept in mind, materials design and infrastructure can be designed and built in a much better way than the past while becoming more better for the future.

-Having a LCA is key in knowing whether or not to pick a certain material. A more sustainable material at first glance may not be when looking at the production process or raw materials extraction.
-Once the 4D priniting is more developed it will be beneficial to know the LCA. Is the process sustainable all around or just the product by having a better impact on the environment and people.
-4D materials are still in the research and design phase but there may be endless opportunities to come with getting these materials to react to environmental cues.
-ETFE is overall a much better material to use than glass and the possibilities seem endless with using this material to span long distances and immensely decrease steel use for large buildings, such as stadiums