Specialty Fabrics Review August 2019 - 91

demonstrate their sustainable credentials.
Belgium-based BIO4SELF is utilizing biobased
thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers
(bio-LCP) with the goal of producing a fully
biobased high-performance composite. The
European Community (EC)-funded project
reads like a "Who's Who" of the European
technical textile and composites industry,
with fifteen partners including Centexbel,
the Institute of Textile Technology at RWTH
Aachen University and the Fraunhofer
Institute for Chemical Technology.
The composite is manufactured by
combining a low-melting polylactic acid
(PLA) fiber with a high-tenacity PLA fiber that
has a higher melting point and reinforcement
provided by bio-LCP nanofibrils to enhance
strong mechanical properties. The ultimate
objective is to develop a composite that is "selffunctionalizing." Photocatalytic fibers could
induce self-cleaning capabilities; bespoke
microcapsules could provide the ability for
self-healing; and deformation-detecting fibers
could allow for self-sensing. The longevity of
such a material, and any product made from
it, would be exceptional, paving the way for
the next generation of composites in which
sustainability is a given.
"Nature-based solutions can be cost-effective for
meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in
cities, which are crucial for global sustainability."
-UN Global Assessment Report
Sir Colin Buchanan's report "Traffic
in Towns," commissioned by the U.K.
government in 1963, remains one of the most
influential planning documents of the last
century. Among the proposals contained in
the report is the suggestion for "multilevel
designs" to allow city dwellers to live "at
peace with the motor car." The post-WWII
Hungarian architect Erno Goldfinger was
a leading proponent of high-rise living,
undertaking Greater London Council
commissions such as the design of Balfron
Tower, completed the same year that the
report was published. The structure's service
utilities and recreational areas were separated
from dwelling areas by color-coded "streets"
leading to the main tower.
By the end of the 20th century, such
brutalist tower blocks (and Balfron in

particular) had become what the Financial
Times describes as a "visual shorthand for
urban deprivation." The UN report stresses
the environmental, social and economic
benefit of a green infrastructure approach
to urban planning, advocating "retrofitting
green and blue infrastructure, such as
creating and maintaining green spaces
and biodiversity-friendly water bodies,
urban agriculture, rooftop gardens and
expanded and accessible vegetation cover
in existing urban and peri-urban areas and
new developments."
The transformative impact of living roofs
and urban agriculture is clearly demonstrated
through projects such as the Ford Rouge
Factory Living Roof in Dearborn, Mich.,
and the High Line in New York City. Both
developments created economic, social
and environmental advantages that have
encouraged the development of an industry.
Knowledge of local climate, nature and
community is essential; architectural design
firms like Atlantic Star Design, for example,
are focused on regional projects close to their
base in Savannah, Ga. Headed by Stella Ruth
Matthews, RLA, the group's philosophy is
centered around preserving ecology and
seeking the best ways to harmonize the built
environment with the earth's natural processes.
Mobility and transportation are firmly
embedded in urban life, but there is a shift
in the way that city planners, architects,
landscape architects, automotive companies
and textile manufacturers are thinking about
the issue. Advancing technologies have an
opportunity to make a real difference in
an urban world, and the next decade will
be crucial.

THE CONCEPT CAR IS
NO LONGER SIMPLY
A CAR: IT'S PART OF
A MUCH LARGER
MOBILITY ECOSYSTEM
THAT NEEDS TO BE
IN PLACE FOR SMART
CITIES, THE PEOPLE
WHO LIVE IN THEM
AND THE NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT TO
THRIVE TOGETHER.

Marie O'Mahony is a visiting professor at the Royal
College of Art in London, an industry consultant
and the author of several books on advanced and
smart textiles published by Thames and Hudson.
Visit www.linkedin.com/in/marie-o-mahony-94776836.

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Specialty Fabrics Review August 2019

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