Inflatable Architecture has enabled the imaginations of environmental dreamers of all types. From figures like Buckminster Fuller to Ant Farm, inflatables promise to liberate people from the harsh conditions of nature or the tyranny of architecture. Originally developed by the US Military for radar enclosures on the arctic, inflatables were picked up by NASA before their secrets were bestowed upon the public who deployed them to solve all sorts of problems, from enclosing pools to stadiums.
Today — 70 years later — and people are still dreaming of new uses for inflatables. However, there are other, more covert uses that one might not even know were inflatable, like their application at the Kaplan Institute at IIT by the architect John Ronan. Here the facade is an inflatable ETFE membrane that filters light while providing ample insulation. This video traces this evolution from military and NASA technology, all the way to buildings like the facade on the Kaplan Institute.
