Soon, the city of São Paulo, Brazil will gain a new neighborhood. The project will draw a lot of attention, despite its size and duration: 330 m² and only five days. It is the Composites Neighborhood that Latin American Composite Materials Association (ALMACO) will build at their stand at Feicon Batimat, the main construction trade show event in Latin America – held from March 18 to 22, at Anhembi.
According to Gilmar Lima, president of ALMACO, the initiative aims to show society that composites are present in the daily lives of everyone, although many people do not have the slightest idea.
“It is no longer possible to imagine our lives without the material, and construction is one of the sectors that best exemplify this,” he says. Sinks, laundry sinks, toilet seats, water tanks, tiles and even entire houses are made from the combination of plastic resins and glass fibers, the main raw materials of composites.
And, of course, the Composites Neighborhood will also include a house and a school. The construction systems adopted in both of them were approved by Brazilian government programs: My House, My Life, and the National Education Development Fund (FNDE). The space will also include a health center, a shop and leisure area.
“The whole exhibition will be based on composite materials. From power poles, mini wind power generators, toilets and traffic signs to bus stops and decor items, everything will be made of composites,” says Lima. He recalls that the neighborhood is similar to the concept of the successful Compocity, a mini-city built by ALMACO in 2012. “At the time, approximately US$ 800 million in business was generated. The expectation now is to, at least, repeat that number.”