Will We Glue Skyscrapers Together in the Future?

This from the man, Lynn, who said that we'd be making houses the same way we make shoes. He's a techno carpet bagger. He takes the most current and promising technologies, from shoe makers, to car makers, and then rails at the building establishment for not taking that technology and his lead seriously. When in fact, his actual works are bonded kids toys. And that's the problem with these guys, they talk big game, but when it comes to implementation, they barely elicit a shrug.

Structural steel was adopted quickly once it was clear that it was superior to all other existing construction technologies. The same thing would be true with glue-this and glue-that, if it turned out the be true. It's not. It's the architectural equivalent of vapor-ware.

Sorry Herr Lynn, we are still waiting for your shoe houses.

Boston's Big Dig tunnels used bolts glued with epoxy to hang the heavy roof panels that hung over the roadway. The epoxy failed catastrophically and the panels fell on a car, killing the driver.

Analysis of the accident blamed the workers who installed the bolts, but I think the big lesson is that construction sites are messy, and don't provide the best environment for the delicate chemical reactions needed to set adhesives properly.

This already happens. The glass on the curtain walls of many skyscrapers is held in place by structural silicon adhesive. Example: Frank Gehry's IAC building in Manhattan, referenced here [1], using products like this: [2]

[1] http://archpaper.com/news/articles.asp?id=185

[2] http://www.portafab.com/curtainwall-connecting-adhesives.htm...

> “The problem is that glue is not a mechanical fastener, [and it] can deteriorate over time,” he tells CityLab.

Current materials can rust or rot over time. Water can get in places and cause failures[1].

The problem, in my uneducated-on-the-topic mind, is that glue seems more likely to fail all at once or exhibit a cascade failure than mechanical fasteners.

[1] - http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_28329832/berkele...

In California, building codes are tightly integrated with fire code. For example, residential roofs cannot be entirely covered with solar panels because a firefighter may have to punch a hole in the roof to vent a fire.

Has anyone ever witnessed a glue lam beam burn? How would glue fasteners in a skyscraper perform in a fire? The relevant industry needs to conduct studies and show proof that it's safe.

Safety is a big bandwagon in the CA Leg., so plenty of good data would be needed to push innovation into building codes.

Based on my knowledge of how the CA State Fire Marshal works, it'll be 2040 or later for glue welds make it into CA building codes, if the tech proves to be viable.

Was I the only one who thought that the article will be about "gluing" skyscrapers with each other? Like using metal bars or something to make them less vulnerable to wind and earthquakes, by making them behave as one?

> "People are often content with using the tried and true, code-prescribed systems," he said.

Unlike aircraft that are made in a carefully controlled factory environment; building sites can be harsh places to work and fastening systems have to have the flexibility and design margins to cope with this.

Unless glues start getting a track record of being significantly better (cost, strength, resilience) than current fastening systems I doubt we will see much adoption.

Biggest questions I have are: how reliably can this be done in the harsh environment of a job site, and is it obvious when the application has failed/or is deteriorating?

We already do, it's called welding.