Translucent Concrete

Translucent concrete is a concrete based building material with light-transmissive properties due to embedded light optical elements — usually optical fibres. Light is conducted through the concrete from one end to the other. Therefore, the fibres must go through the whole object. This results into a certain light pattern on the other surface, depending on the fibre structure. Shadows cast onto one side appear as silhouettes through the material.

Originally, All are based on a fine grain concrete (95%) and only 5% fibre filaments were placed individually in the concrete, making production time-consuming and costly. Newer, semi-automatic production processes use woven fibre fabric instead of single filaments. Fabric and concrete are alternately inserted into moulds at intervals of approximately 2 to 5 millimetres. Smaller or thinner layers allow an increased amount of light to pass through the concrete. Following casting, the material is cut into panels or blocks of the specified thickness and the surface is then typically polished, resulting in finishes ranging from semi-gloss to high gloss.

Recent technological enhancement made there is no optical fibre for light transmission but a specially formed plastic unit. This change and the industrialized way of manufacturing and bring translucent concrete into a more affordable price range. The panels are reinforced and can even be storey-high that makes installation easier. The light dots appear with regular distribution on the surface of the panels just like pixels on an LCD screen. Besides, it is easy to create patterns or even coloured logos out of the pixels. It is also possible to create not only plain panels but 3D objects e.g., folded or curved forms, hollow bodies. Among many others, this option can give ideas to design e.g., public statues or illuminated street furniture.

Translucent Concrete blocks/panels can be applied in several fields of design and architecture e.g., illumination façade, window shade, inner partition walls or as a decoration element in interiors architecture.

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