ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene) is the building material of the future. This wonder polymer, a transparent plastic related to Teflon is replacing glass and plastic in some of the most innovative buildings being designed and constructed today. Its selling points? Compared to glass, it's 1% the weight, transmit more light, is a better insulator and costs 24 - 70% less to install. It's also resilient able to bear 400x its own weight, self cleaning because of its non-stick surface and 100% recyclable.
The current largest ETFE construction projects are the Beijing National Stadium and Aquatics Center for the 2008 Olympics. They will be the strongest and most energy efficient buildings in the world.
image via core77
story via Business Week
Looks really nice. Price limiting though. Apparently cost results from a difficult copolymerization.
~$100 for a 150 mm x 150 mm square.