Avient showcases ultra-high-strength fibers in large-scale architectural installation
Last update on Jan 22, 2026
Dyneema®, owned by Avient Corporation, an innovator of materials solutions, announces its contribution to a new, visually striking installation titled “The Lightness of Strength: The Wave,” now open at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.
Created by students from The Catholic University of America in partnership with Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fiber™, the dramatic structure hovers high within the museum’s iconic Great Hall, despite weighing approximately 5,000 pounds, offering a bold exploration of how advanced materials can reshape the future of architectural design.
Exploring strength-to-weight advantages at architectural scale
Featuring Dyneema® Composite Fabric, the installation uses the material to explore the visual and conceptual relationship between strength and lightness at an architectural scale. The Dyneema® fabric forms a dramatic exterior surface, tensioned across a patent-pending internal-wire geodesic system and steel frame, reflecting a full-scale research process that evolved through design, testing, and construction.
The project serves as both a public exhibition and a full-scale research study into how advanced materials can unlock new architectural possibilities around lightweight strength and structural efficiency.
Under the leadership of Professor Tonya M. Ohnstad, students from architecture, engineering, and design programs worked hands-on with Dyneema® materials to prototype and build the installation. The immersive, interdisciplinary process allowed the team to test structural ideas at full scale—an increasingly rare opportunity in architectural education.
“Working with Dyneema® materials allowed our students to explore structural ideas that simply wouldn’t be possible with conventional materials,” said professor Tonya M. Ohnstad. “This installation demonstrates the power of lightweight strength, not just as a technical achievement, but as a new way of imagining architectural space. Dyneema® was a natural fit for a project centered on the interplay of lightness and strength, allowing our students to shape a bold, rigorous structure that still floats with remarkable visual ease.”
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As the world’s strongest fiber™, Dyneema® is used across industries where lightweight materials and durability are critical. Within this installation, the material supports a visual and conceptual investigation into how advanced fivers can inform future thinking around materiality, scale, and architectural expression.
“This project highlights how material innovation can inspire bold new approaches to form and fabrication,” said Chiharu Pidgeon, Global Business manager, Fabrics & Composites for Dyneema®, Avient. “We’re proud to support the next generation of designers as they expand the creative and structural potential of Dyneema®.”
The Lightness of Strength: The Wave is on display at the National Building Museum from now through February 2026.
Image credits: Avient