Building designers and architects often have to incorporate the personal vision of the client on how the building should look like when finished. More often than not, many of these clients prefer to go for the luxury materials such as natural stones, stainless steel, and premium grade, shatter-resistant glass. Unfortunately, not all residential building owners can truly afford such premium materials. As such, it is up to the architects and building designers to propose alternative materials that can provide the same level of elegance required by their respective clients without necessarily breaking the bank. Most of these materials are often underutilized in building design.
Here are 5 of them.
1. Plastic Sheets
The term plastic has almost always been equated with low quality. There is this prevailing notion that all plastics are cheap and as such should never be used in the design of a new home, much less a building. However, there are quite a number of professional companies that provide exceptional quality of plastic sheets. Take for example the products provided by Cut My Plastic. They guarantee that all of their plastic sheets are weather resistant, very durable, highly glossy, impact resistant, and hard wearing. These are manufactured through a very unique extrusion process that helps provide its superb qualities.
2. Acrylic Rods
These are excellent in the design of trimmings as well as interior decoration in the house or the building being planned. These come in a variety of colors and opacity to give it a glass-like appearance. Since these materials have a solid core, they do provide a sense of elegance that can only be seen in premium grade glass materials. The best part of this is that they can be shaped to any form providing you with endless design possibilities.
3. Acrylic Tubes
Just like acrylic rods, acrylic tubes make for excellent interior decorations. In some cases, these can be manufactured with a frosted appearance to add a new dimension to the aesthetic qualities of your home. These, too, can be shaped to conform to any of your design wishes.
4. Polycarbonate
While it is true that polycarbonate sheets have been around for more than 4 decades, it remains one of the most under-appreciated materials in building design. Only revolutionary building designers or architects often integrate these materials into their design because of its superb thermal insulation properties. It is also a lot cheaper than conventional wall systems allowing organizations or building owners to save a lot of money without sacrificing quality and aesthetics.
5. Acrylic Mirrors
Instead of using glass, future homeowners and building owners can benefit from acrylic mirrors. Its lightweight as well as superior impact resistance are what you will need to create truly fantastic window panels and partitions that require the use of a transparent or translucent material.
These are just 5 of the most underutilized materials in the design of a new building. They may be inexpensive but they have other qualities that make them ideal for building and construction projects.
All Images from Datum House by FIGR Architecture & Design
