Techtextil, a leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, will host its Textile Structures for New Building competition, aiming to put the spotlight on young people. The exhibition organisers invite students of civil engineering, product design and related disciplines, as well as young professionals, to enter the competition with their ideas for building with textiles or textile-reinforced materials.

The deadline for receipt of entries on the competition website is 26 February 2017. The competition, which is in its 14^th edition, is sponsored by the international TensiNet network with prize money totalling EUR 8,000.

Textiles in building

A part of many elements, from membrane roofs and smart façades to lightweight constructions, fibre-based materials are a component part of architecture and building.

This competition is designed to identify innovative thinking and innovative solutions to problems, featuring construction projects capable of concrete realisation which use textiles or textile reinforced materials.

A further aim is to encourage students and new entrants to the professions. The competition is further intended to strengthen contacts between the younger generation, the universities, the technical-textiles industry, and broad sections of the building industry.

Presentation ceremony

The technical / scientific supervisor is Prof Werner Sobek, Director of the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK), of the University of Stuttgart. For the first time, the competition is partnered by Architonic, the leading online platform for architecture and design.

The award-winning works will be on show for international exhibitors and visitors during the official presentation ceremony and in a special exhibition at Techtextil 2017, which takes place from 9-12 May 2017 in Frankfurt, Germany.

With the 14th edition of the biennial competition, Techtextil presents innovative and practical examples of building with textiles or textile-reinforced materials and promotes communication between established experts and students and young professionals.

www.techtextil-student.com