High-Tech Textiles Could Change Construction and Medicine

Posted on April 18, 2005

The New York Times reports that amazing new textiles are coming that can be used in everything from medical procedures to building cars. The Times reports that Peter Testa, an architect in Santa Monica, Calif., has designed a 40-story skyscraper that could be built without steel. The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum currently has an online exhibit showing the many uses for the high-tech textiles. The beginning of the New York Times article offers a glimpse at future uses of extreme textiles:

A knitted bag holds a weakened heart, helping it pump blood. Electricity flows through the threads of a battery-powered fleece jacket, keeping the wearer warm. Carbon fibers are braided into structures that look like mushrooms, but are actually prototypes of automotive engine valves. Other fibers are shaped into bicycle frames and sculling oars. Textiles are no longer just the stuff of clothing, carpets and furniture covering. Made of high-tech threads, they can also be found in lifesaving medical devices and the bodies of racing cars. One architect is proposing building a skyscraper out of carbon fibers.