Power-generating textiles might augment buildings

Every January, Architect magazine, the official publication of the American Institute of Architects, publishes the predictions and recommendations of new materials guru, Blaine Brownell, for what he thinks architects and designers should expect to see more of in the coming year. Brownell’s five picks for significant new material trends in 2017 include Programmable cement, Hardwood cross-laminated timber (CLT), Solar-harvesting roads, Building-integrated bioreactors, and what caught our eye, his choice of Georgia Institute of Technology’s power-generating textiles. According to the report, this new development in fabric harvests energy from solar and kinetic sources, woven into textiles composed of polymer fiber-based solar cells and triboelectric fibers.