The Beijing "Water Cube" and its green "bubble-wrap" technology

The Beijing National Aquatics Center has been the centerpiece of this year's Olympic games, but it isn't only because of Michael Phelp's unbelievable 8-gold-medal-winning performance.

It's the bubbles.

Although it may be visually stunning to the many visitors worldwide (especially at night), the Water Cube's bubbly exterior showcases some of the latest in green technology that is currently being used to save significant amounts of energy.

Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) is a light-weight polymer foil, around 250-microns thick, that is stretched thin and then folded to create giant air pockets that let light pass through while trapping and storing heat. 3,000 of these air bubbles have been created (roughly 30 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep in the center) and are organized into three layers for use in the walls of the Bejing National Aquatics Center.

"It is like very sophisticated bubble wrap," said Annette LeCuyer, an architecture professor at the University at Buffalo (via LiveScience.com). "What you end up with is a very thick wall that is mostly made of air," LeCuyer said. "It acts like a duvet blanket."

So where do we find the energy savings? According to Vector Foiltec, a glass building would take 200 times more energy to fabricate and construct when compared to an EFTE building. Additionally, according to LeCuyer, the "bubble wrap" provides the same amount of insulation as two layers of triple-glaze glass. LeCuyer adds that a glass building would cost twice as much to construct, due to the extra framework required to support the much heavier glass.

Other advantages over standard glass is that it is fire-resistant and also shatter-proof, and since it is non-stick, dirt, dust, and other foreign elements can be easily washed away with rain. 

So what's next for EFTE? A sports stadium, leisure parks, and apparently a giant indoor Amazonian rainforest in Iowa are currently in the works.  With all the advantages and unique design implementations that EFTE has to offer, expect this new green technology to have a very bright future in the coming years.

Source: LiveScience.com - How Bubble Wrap Could Power the Future