Remember how I said that I wanted to know more about the material being used by Norman Foster in the Astana tent project in Kazakhstan? Well, I took the extraordinary step of looking it up. Turns out that the material is called ETFE (Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene). It has been used in some other similar applications around the world - notably the Eden Project and a few sports stadiums. Evidently it is very lightweight and relatively strong, making it a good material where the transparency of glass is needed, but weight is an issue. People also use this material in the creation of greenhouses.

Who gave Kazakhstan all that money?

Kazakhstan is building a huge tent in their capital, Astana. The tent is supposed to trap in heat from the sun to keep the temperature inside some 60°F above the ambient outdoor temperature. One of the keys to this giant tent is a 'special material that abosorbs sunlight to creat the effect of summer inside.' I really want to find out more about this 'special material'. Not only is it transparent, but apparently it is very strong - or at least I assume that it is.