look what we did!Innovations From Polyurethane Manufacturers

Polyurethane brings ancient architectural details into the 21st century

Architectural details from the distant past are getting an update with molded polyurethane components that make them easier to install and maintain.

Crown molding — the decorative strip around the top of a wall — and columns are two architectural details that trace their lineage back to ancient Egypt. Over the millennia, these details evolved from being made of stone to plaster to wood. Even today, many people like the “finished” look of crown molding or chair railings (molding that goes around the room’s wall at chair height) while columns are used in the exteriors of several American home styles,...

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Polyurethane Fuels Shipping Container Home Craze

Today, retired shipping containers — like the ones found on huge container ships and freight trains used to move cargo around the world—are getting a second life, being used by enterprising builders, architects and would-be homeowners to create stunning one-of-a-kind custom homes. Though at first glance, they may seem quite modular, the design of a modern shipping container home is only limited by the imagination. Under the auspices of trained, professionals, these dwellings can be made habitable and safe with proper ventilation, fire safety and appropriate exits. To help these steel containers make the transition from featureless, industrial vessels into places of cozy respite...

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Polyurethane Stories That Made Headlines in 2019

Polyurethane Modular Homes

At the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season, Astrid Diaz, a Puerto Rico-based architect, announced her plans for a new polyurethane-based modular home. Her designs consist of polyurethane foam walls and a roof, reinforced with a steel frame, then covered with mortar. The homes — which can withstand winds of up to 184 miles per hour — blend in well with the existing architecture of similar structures that populate the island where there was a need for an estimated 75,000 homes in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

In spring,...

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Polyurethane Modular Homes Could Be Key to Hurricane-Resistant Housing

Could polyurethane be the key to providing housing for those in need? Astrid Diaz, an architect in Puerto Rico, seems to think so.

A Polyurethane Modular Home Design

Diaz’s design for a new kind of modular home consists of polyurethane foam walls and a roof, reinforced with a steel frame. Once erected, the structure is covered with mortar, adding weight and stability to the home. The mortar also gives Diaz’s design the appearance of a typical Puerto Rican home – blending in well with the existing architecture of the cities and towns on the island.

An Island in Need

Nearly...

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Looking for a Career Path with Promise? PU May Be Right for You!

If you’re one of the 80 percent of students who change their declared major or begin their college careers undeclared, listen up: a future in polyurethane may be right for you. The polyurethane industry is poised for growth over the next few decades and, as mentioned before in this blog, polyurethane is an essential contributor to the U.S. economy in ways that reverberate throughout the supply chain. 

There are several options for you to consider as you look to embark upon a viable and rewarding career:

Research & Development

Are you an idea person willing to work tirelessly to get...

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Polyurethane Helps Safeguard Food Supply

As breakthroughs in agriculture and farming help to feed a growing global population, polyurethane spray foam (SPF) insulation is doing its part to house crops and livestock and doing so in a more sustainable way.

SPF is one of the most efficient and readily available forms of insulation for agricultural and livestock buildings around the world. It helps maintain consistent temperatures in the cold of winter, stand up to excessive heat in summer and even delivers a layer of protection against moisture, pests and insects.

Here are just a few of the ways SPF insulation is helping farmers house our...

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3D-Printed Polyurethane Homes Are Here

For those that dream of home ownership, 3D printing and polyurethane may be bringing that opportunity closer than most people think. A group of researchers at the French University of Nantes have dialed in on a particular method of 3D printing that uses rigid polyurethane. As proof positive of their concept, the group constructed a house in Nantes itself.

Printing of the four-bedroom 1000 square foot home happened in just 54 hours. It then took an additional four months for carpenters and workmen to install plumbing and wiring and put on finishing touches – like the doors, windows and roof.

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Remembering the 1970s Polyurethane Homes of the Future

Beginning in the late 1960s and lasting into the 1980s, a small group of visionary architects got tired of making houses and rooms that were so – ahem – square. Instead, these daring designers decided to go circular, dreaming up rooms with no corners, and houses, consisting of little more than a series of connected domes.

The Right Building Material

In building their dream dwellings, these intrepid designers turned to polyurethane to bring their designs to life. As a medium, polyurethane foam allowed them to achieve lines and curves in the building process not previously thought possible. The end result...

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Polyurethane Helps Create Resilient, Green Building Products

During the past decade, consumers moved towards eco-friendly products. However, today, it is not enough simply to have environmentally sound offerings, a company’s products have to be resilient as well, meaning they have to be able to stand up to the elements.

Nowhere is this more important than in the construction industry, where designers, policymakers and engineers face the difficult task of rebuilding in areas prone to natural disasters like hurricanes and flooding.

With a renewed focus in the construction industry on creating energy efficient and durable products that are also resilient, there is an interest in products like closed-cell...

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