Natural Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites (NFRP) Fabricated from Lignocellulosic Fibres for Future Sustainable Architectural Applications, Case Studies: Segmented-Shell Construction, Acoustic Panels, and Furniture

Abstract

Due to the high amounts of waste generated from the building industry field, it has become essential to search for renewable building materials to be applied in wider and more innovative methods in architecture. One of the materials with the highest potential in this area is natural fibre-reinforced polymers (NFRP), which are also called biocomposites, and are filled or reinforced with annually renewable lignocellulosic fibres. This would permit variable closed material cycles’ scenarios and should decrease the amounts of waste generated in the building industry. Throughout this paper, this discussion will be illustrated through a number of developments and 1:1 mockups fabricated from newly developed lignocellulosic-based biocomposites from both bio-based and non-bio-based thermoplastic and thermoset polymers. Recyclability, closed materials cycles, and design variations with diverse digital fabrication technologies will be discussed in each case. The mock-ups’ concepts, materials’ compositions, and fabrication methods are illustrated. In the first case study, a structural segmented shell construction is developed and constructed. In the second case study, acoustic panels were developed. The final case studies are two types of furniture, where each is developed from a different lignocellulosic-based biocomposite. All of the presented case studies show diverse architectural design possibilities, structural abilities, and physical building characteristics.