Aluminium frame structure contributes to WonderFrame's sustainable ICEhouse building concept

According to a UN Report published last year, the current world population of 7.3 billion is expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050 and a whopping 11.2 billion in 2100. Already, says WWF, it takes a year and a half to generate the resources that the human population uses in only a year.

The challenge to accommodate this burgeoning population while reducing humanity’s footprint is a major one. What this growth in any case will require are trillions of dollars of new infrastructure. And this will drive the construction industry to seek solutions for sustainable materials and innovative techniques to enable the building of affordable, energy-efficient houses while contributing to the smart use of global resources based on circular-economy principles.

William McDonough + Partners and WonderFrame LLC, in collaboration with Saudi chemical company Sabic, has designed and built the ICEhouse – where ICE stands for Innovation for the Circular Economy. The ICEhouse, made of various types of Sabic’s LEXAN sheets, aluminium profiles, represents how structures can easily be built, disassembled and reused with advanced materials supporting the circular economy.

The ICEhouse uses a revolutionary aluminium frame structure and several forms of SABIC’s LEXAN sheet, including high-insulating, nanogel-filled LEXAN THERMOCLEAR multiwall sheet for cladding. The polycarbonate LEXAN sheet materials can be recovered and continuously reused.

SABIC’s LEXAN sheet portfolio provides valuable options to architects and designers seeking sustainable building solutions and has potential to contribute to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, in part through its use of recycled aluminium content. Moreover, the nanogel-filled LEXAN multiwall sheet used on the translucent walls and ceilings of the ICEhouse may be an excellent material for offering energy savings of up to 50 per cent compared to monolayer glass.