Laminated fabric for distinctive building design
July 1st, 2019
Laminated fabric provides improved thermal performance and adds a unique depth to the facade of the Horw Secondary School. Photos: Franz Rindlisbacher, Zurich. The Horw Secondary School located in Lucerne, Switzerland, was ready for a facelift. Built in the 1970s, the dated building needed to join the modern world, including meeting the requirements of Minergie, […]
Expo 2019 Exhibitor Product Preview
July 1st, 2019
Your first look at the new products and value-added services waiting for you on the show floor at IFAI EXPO 2019 in Orlando, October 1–4. This fall, hundreds of exhibitors will bring you the latest products and information from the entire textile supply chain, from fibers to fabrics to shade systems; from state-of-the-art equipment and […]
Memories and history in thread and paper
July 1st, 2019
Viewed either from the ground floor looking up or from an upper balcony looking out, the cloudlike installation “Beyond Memory” at the Gropius Bau museum created a sense of wonder and a glimpse into history. Photo: Mathias Völzke, courtesy the artist & VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2019. Berlin’s historic museum Gropius Bau was recently the setting […]
Creativity CUBED
July 1st, 2019
Electra’s inventive flat-top temporary fabric structure helps it keep pace with Dubai’s fast-evolving event industry. By Holly Eamon In a world where customers increasingly expect their demands to be met instantaneously, companies that don’t prioritize active listening—or engagement—risk being left behind. Based in the competitive market of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), event and exhibition […]
E-textiles in health monitoring
July 1st, 2019
Progress, potential and challenges for next-generation applications. by Debra Cobb Among the many benefits promised by the smart fabric revolution has been the “consumerization of health care.” Wearables are enabling the remote monitoring of a wide range of chronic medical conditions, from diabetes, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure (CHF) to symptoms of disease, […]
The Hot Pocket for outdoor comfort
July 1st, 2019
Hot Pocket does double duty on a camping trip: It stores your gear and keeps it warm. Photo: Sierra Madre Research. When the nights get cold or a chilly rain falls during a camping adventure, wouldn’t it be great to slip into a heated, cozy sleeping bag? That’s the idea behind Hot Pocket, a stuff […]
Swimming—fast—with the sharks
July 1st, 2019
HeiQ and Speedo listened to the feedback of premier swimmers to create a new line and two different styles of Fastskin suits. Photos: Speedo. Competitive swimmers know that the right swimwear is essential for the swift swim they seek: The suit needs to be drag-resistant to achieve maximum speed. Iconic swimwear brand Speedo has introduced […]
A bright future: fabrics that generate electricity
July 1st, 2019
Pvilion’s Colin Touhey is working to forge strategic partnerships to integrate photovoltaic technology into all kinds of fabric products. by Jill C. Lafferty Every time you are building what you think is a one-off project, you’re probably going to do something similar a second time, a third time, a hundredth time,” says Colin Touhey, CEO […]
Animal care and protection
July 1st, 2019
As awareness heightens over the contribution that pets and other animals make to our lives, more attention is being paid to their comfort and well-being. by Pamela Mills-Senn Nobody ever really thinks about how swimming pools might affect frogs, toads, snakes, squirrels, mice and other small critters. Rich Mason, owner of Crownsville, Md.-based FrogLog®, didn’t […]
Set a course: the aerospace market
July 1st, 2019
As NASA sets a course for Mars and a return to the moon, and private companies engage in a new space race, textile companies navigate the aerospace market with high-performance fabrics and products designed for the next frontier. by Amy Goetzman When does a single lemon cost $2,000? When it’s in space. NASA reports that […]