Concrete canvas tent inflates and hardens into permanent structure

This is a development that has great to potential to have far reaching effects across the world. A U.K. company called Concrete Canvas has developed inflatable tents out of their material that harden into permanent structures after sprayed with water.

The canvas itself is lightweight and flexible but contains all of the materials that make up concrete. Essentially, these tents are made by stitching a lot of this material together and then inflating it with air.

Once the shape of the building is there, air continues to flow in to keep it while water is applied. It takes only two people less than an hour to erect the tents and in 24 hours the concrete is set and the buildings are ready to be used.

The tents were originally developed for military use, but millions across the globe would benefit from a quickly-erected permanent structure like this that can withstand wind, rain and even the heat of a blow torch. And who knows what type of other building applications could be developed with this technology? Even increasing the scale of the tents could be a huge breakthrough.

Be sure to watch the video below from National Geographic which details how one of the tents is erected.

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