Evan Milberg January 25, 2016
A Japanese architect unveiled “fa-bo,” a three-floor office building surrounded by hundreds of carbon fibers used to protect it from earthquakes.

“Until now I had never thought that fiber and architecture were connected,” said Kuma, “but this has shown me new possibilities for architecture.”

Many architecture experts see 2016 as a “big year” for composites. The market is just beginning to realize the potential for composites in architecture.

According to CompositesLab, part of this shift can be attributed to the molding freedom that comes with composites. The materials’ ability to take complex shapes offers designers, engineers and architects a level of design flexibility not typically found with other competing materials.