Adaptive Recycled Plastic Architecture: Vacuum-Sealed Chainmail Structures Through Computational Design
June 05, 2025 Source: arXiv (preprint); Cornell University Date Published: 06.05.2025 This research investigates the transformation of recycled PET plastics into vacuum-sealed chainmail structures that are optimized through computational design. The researchers evaluated triangular, circular, and rectangular geometries, finding that the rectangular chainmail was the most versatile and structurally efficient. When subjected to vacuum sealing, the stiffness of the material increased by up to 25 times, enabling it to withstand simulated dead, live, snow, and wind loads in accordance with international building standards. Potential applications include disaster relief shelters, façades, modular housing, and even extreme environments like high altitudes, underwater, or extraterrestrial habitats. Since the plastic units are not chemically bonded, they can be remelted and reused indefinitely, providing a genuine circular economy model for construction. This study illustrates how recycled plastic waste can transition from mere packaging to architectural material systems that are lightweight, deployable, and sustainable, effectively linking waste management, computational design, and resilient building practices.