Like traditional fabric membrane roofing products, Kenafine will function as a highly durable, moisture resistant material that features a high degree of translucency, promoting optimum natural daylighting. As a sustainable building product, Kenafine contributes to a variety of United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) credit categories.
“Kenafine is a unique step forward in realizing sustainable design through tensile architecture,” says Michele Roth, Birdair marketing manager. “The ability to now be able to recycle fabric membrane into paper products makes tensile design both an environmentally responsible and aesthetically pleasing addition to the building envelope.”
Kenafine membrane is derived from kenaf, a type of annual hibiscus herb that absorbs more carbon dioxide than regular plants and trees and therefore grows more rapidly. Kenaf growth will reduce global warming by increasing the recovery of harmful carbon dioxide, and features no halogens that could produce fluorine and chlorine upon landfill disposal. The plant will grow well in a variety of climates and is farmed principally throughout China, India, Africa and Australia, and through locations in North America, including Texas, North Carolina and Mexico. In the past, the main uses of kenaf fiber have been rope and twine same as that made from jute, coarse cloth and paper. Kenaf functions as an alternative to wood as a raw material for paper.
As a member of the USGBC, Birdair continues to develop and promote methods and technologies that result in sustainable building design.
