37 Sustainable Construction and Building Materials
The concept of sustainable cities or more commonly known as eco-friendly buildings and residential homes are gaining lots of attention lately, especially when bigger issues such as global warming and pollution conditions in the busiest cities worsen.
Initiatives to first reduce and then repair this condition has garnered worldwide support from government leaders, business magnates and celebrities or influencers. It has to be done before its too late.
So while there are many activities and innovations from science and technology dedicated for fixing this global issue, there is another fundamental change that could be done to greatly help in such direction.
Human civilisation comes from development of cities and towns, and these comprises of buildings and man-made structures, so at the most practical end of this chain, we have the blocks that made these structures, which in this case are building materials.
Its quite simple actually, we can and should gradually replace conventional materials with completely “green” and sustainable materials or composites for a cleaner and brighter future.
So what really defines these sustainable construction or building materials?
Construction industry experts and researchers have mapped them to at least possess one or all 5 of these qualities (or straight up advantages!)
Resource efficient materials that are;
- natural and abundant
- has undergone energy efficient manufacturing process
- locally available for reducing pollution & costs from transportation
- reusable and recyclable, where it could be dismantled and repurposed for use somewhere else
- durable, which reduces wastage and the need to replace worn out and weakened materials
Materials which satisfy indoor air quality
- non toxic, meaning materials that does not emit chemicals that pollute the environment
- low volatile organic compounds during its assembly or processing
- safe maintenance, i.e. requires simple and non toxic methods of cleaning
- moisture resistant for preventing growth of biological contaminants in the building
- contributes to improving air quality instead.
Energy efficient materials
- that help reduce consumption of energy in buildings and homes.
- materials that help (directly or indirectly) generate energy from renewable sources like solar, hydro, aero, kinetics and etc.
Water saving materials
- which help reduce water usage in buildings
- converse and collect water from environment for use
Cost effectiveness
- materials that are comparatively more affordable due to lower and efficient life-cycle, processing or maintenance costs
Image below shows examples of green alternatives for conventional building materials
While these are pretty basic, but it gives an idea of how it can be done!
Finally, here's a non-exhaustive list of 37 eco-friendly construction and building materials
1. Rock (more info)
Rock structures have existed for as long as history can recall. It is the longest lasting building material available, and is usually readily available. There are many types of rock throughout the world all with differing attributes that make them better or worse for particular uses. Rock is a very dense material so it gives a lot of protection. its main drawback as a material is its weight and awkwardness.2. Thatch (more info) Thatch is one of the oldest of building materials known, grass is a good insulator and easily harvested. Many ancient tribes have lived in homes made completely of grasses year round. In Europe, thatch roofs on homes were once prevalent but the material fell out of favour as modernisation and improved transport increased the availability of other materials. Today, though, the practice is undergoing a revival.
3. Brush (more info) Brush structures are built entirely from plant parts and are generally found in tropical and subtropical areas, such as rainforests, where very large leaves can be used in the building. Natives often built brush structures for resting and living in, too. These are built mostly with branches, twigs and leaves, and bark, similar to a beaver’s nest.
4. Ice or Pykrete (more info) Ice was used by the Inuit for igloos, but has also been used for ice hotels as a tourist attraction in northern areas that might not otherwise see many winter tourists.
5. Mud and Clay (more info) The amount of each material used leads to different styles of buildings. The deciding factor is usually connected with the quality of the soil being used. Larger amounts of clay usually mean using the cob/adobe style, while low clay soil is usually associated with sod building. The other main ingredients include more or less sand/gravel and straw grasses. Soil and especially clay is good thermal mass; it is very good at keeping temperatures at a constant level. Homes built with earth tend to be naturally cool in the summer heat and warm in cold weather. Clay holds heat or cold, releasing it over a period of time like stone. Earthen walls change temperature slowly, so artificially raising or lowering the temperature can use more resources than in say a wood built house, but the heat or coolness stays longer.
6. Fabric (more info) The tent used to be the home of choice among nomadic groups the world over. Two well known types include the conical teepee and the circular yurt. It has been revived as a major construction technique with the development of tensile architecture and synthetic fabrics. Modern buildings can be made of flexible material such as fabric, tarpaulin membranes, and supported by a system of steel cables.
7. Ceramics (more info) Ceramics used to be just a specialized form of clay-pottery firing in kilns, but it has evolved into more technical areas though kiln firing is still usually a major step in its creation. Ceramics tend to be more water resistant and heat resistant than other types of pottery, due to its high firing temperature. It is often are used to make such things as tiles, fixtures, etc. It is mostly used as fixtures, ceramic floors, walls, counter-tops, even ceilings. Many countries use ceramic roofing tiles to cover their buildings. Other uses of ceramics include international space programs, which have used ceramic tiles to cover the undersides of spacecraft such as the space shuttle program, high temperature engines, and dental implants and synthetic bones.
8. Foam (more info) More recently synthetic polystyrene or polyurethane foam has been used on a limited scale. It is lightweight, easily shaped and an excellent insulator. It is usually used as part of a structural insulated panel where the foam is sandwiched between wood and cement.
9. Limestone (more info) Limestone is perhaps the most prevalent building material obtained through mining. It is used as a cladding material and plays an important role in the production of a wide range of building products. Concrete and plaster are obvious examples of products that rely on limestone; less obvious is the use of limestone in steel and glass production. An abundant natural resource, limestone is found throughout the world. Most limestone is crushed at the quarry, then converted to lime.
10 .Glass (more info) Glass making is considered an art form as well as an industrial process or material. Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover small openings in a building. They provided humans with the ability to both let light into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement weather outside. Glass is generally made from mixtures of sand and silicates, in a very hot fire stove called a kiln and is very brittle. Very often additives are added to the mixture when making to produce glass with shades of colours or various characteristics (such as bullet proof glass, or light emittance). The use of glass in architectural buildings has become very popular in the modern culture. Glass “curtain walls” can be used to cover the entire facade of a building, or it can be used to span over a wide roof structure in a “space frame”. These uses though require some sort of frame to hold sections of glass together, as glass by itself is too brittle.
11. Rammed Earth (more info) Rammed earth is similar to adobe or cob construction, because its main component is soil, clay and sand. Very little water is used during construction, so almost 3 metre high walls can be built in a day. Most of the Great Wall of China is either rammed earth or has a large component of rammed earth as its base. Traditionally, rammed earth buildings are common in arid regions where wood is in scarce supply.
12. Fly Ash (more info) An extremely versatile material, fly ash offers environmental advantages, it also improve the performance and quality of concrete. Fly ash affects the properties of concrete by by improving workability, reducing water demand, reducing segregation and bleeding, and lowering heat of hydration. Fly ash also increases strength, reduces permeability, reduces corrosion of reinforcing steel by increasing sulphate resistance, and reducing alkali-aggregate reaction.
13. Wood (more info) Wood is a product of trees, and sometimes other fibrous plants, used for construction purposes when cut or pressed into lumber and timber, such as boards, planks and similar materials. It is a generic building material and is used in building just about any type of structure in most climates. Wood can be very flexible under loads, keeping strength while bending, and is incredibly strong when compressed vertically. There are many differing qualities to the different types of wood, even among same tree species. This means specific species are better for various uses than others. And growing conditions are important for deciding quality.
14. ECO Surfaces (more info) Tire rubber recycled into indoor/outdoor flooring and surfacing. These reusable and recycled materials are;
- Slip resistant,
- Weather resistance,
- Meets indoor air quality emissions standards.
- Can be purchased as tiles, interlocking pavers and sheets and in many colours.
15. Faswell (more info) Mineral-treated wood chips bonded with cement into interlocking wall forms. Mortar-less blocks are filled with cement when in place. Comparatively this material is:
- Lightweight,
- Having low density,
- Thermal and sound insulating,
- Non-combustible,
- Fire resistant,
- Pest resistant,
- Highly insulating,
- Weather resistant.
16. Durisol (more info) Wood shavings bonded with cement, compressed and molded into wall, roof, floor and facing panel forms. Comparatively this material is: lightweight, having low density, thermal and sound insulating, non-combustible, fire resistant, pest resistant, highly insulating and weather resistant.
17. Fly Ash Bricks (more info) These bricks are manufactured by mixing weighed amount of fly ash, cement and size stone powder in a mixer and moulded in bricks making machine. Fly Ash can be used in the range of 40-70%. The other ingredients are lime, gypsum (/cement), sand, stone dust/chips etc. Minimum compressive strength (28 days) of 70 kg/cm2 can easily be achieved and this can go upto 250 Kg/cm2 (in autoclaved type). Advantage of these bricks over conventional bricks;
- Lower requirement of mortar in construction
- Plastering over brick can be avoided
- Controlled dimensions, edges, smooth and fine finish and can be in different colours using pigments
- Cost effective, energy-efficient and environment friendly (as avoids the use of fertile clay)
18. Fal-G composites (more info) The process of blending fly ash, lime and calcined gypsum has produced a useful product, named "Fal-G". Fal-G having strong binding proportions and can be used as cement. It can be mixed with sand and/or aggregate to produce building blocks of any desired strength.
19. Sintered Light Weight Aggregate (more info) Sintered Light Weight Aggregate substitutes stone chips in concrete reducing dead weight. It can also be used for various purposes such as structural light weight concrete building units for use as load and non load bearing elements. It has got good potential in where fly ash is locally available and stone aggregates are costly.
20. Cellular Light Weight Concrete (more info) Cellular light Weight concrete (CLC) can be manufactured by a process involving the mixing of fly ash, cement. These blocks are especially useful in high rise construction reducing the dead weight of the structure blocks. Cellular Light Weight Concrete (CLC) blocks are substitute to bricks and conventional concrete blocks in building with density varying from 800 kg/m3 to 1800 kg/m3.
21. Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (more info) Autoclaved aerated concrete can be manufactured by a process involving mixing of fly ash, quick lime or cement and gypsum in a high speed mixer to form thin slurry. These are considered excellent products for walling blocks and prefab floor slabs.
22. Stabilized Mud Fly Ash Bricks Compacted mud fly ash blocks stabilized with lime, cement or other components can be easily made. The problem of getting dry fly ash at the site makes adoption of this technology some what difficult.
23. Clay Fly Ash Bricks (more info) Twenty to fifty percent fly ash depending upon the quality of the soil can be mixed with it to produce clay fly ash bricks by conventional or mechanized processes. Its advantages include reducing fuel requirement as fly ash contains some percentage of unburnt carbon, better thermal insulation, cost effective and environment friendly.
24. Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) (more info) Fast becoming staples of the green building industry are pre-assembled structural insulated panels, or SIPs, which replace conventional framing and offer greater energy efficiency, reduced lumber usage, and quicker construction. SIPs are polystyrene foam sandwiched between oriented strands boards that provide structural framing, insulation, and exterior sheathing in one piece. They can be used as floors, walls, and roofs and provide much greater energy efficiency than insulation in stud walls with an R-value improvement of 15%-40%.
25. Cork (more info) Cork is a great insulating material. It keeps warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. This energy efficiency aids in cutting energy bills in the winter. It is much more energy efficient than either special laminate flooring or discount wood flooring. Cork is also good for sound insulation.
26. Cellulose Insulation (more info) Cellulose insulation is natural insulation material. It is made from recycled newspaper and other recycled paper products. The recycled content is at least 75% or more. This material is better as a sound insulation for reducing the noise in home. The coverage is more uniform and better at muffling sounds from outside the home or the next room.
27. Terrazzo (more info) One of the most popular terrazzo surfaces is made from recycled glass and cast concrete. The glass use is both post consumer as well as post industrial. The final product contains 80% -95% post consumer recycled content and at such relies on the material being produced and consumed in the first place. Terrazzo is as durable as granite and less porous than marble which makes for long lasting and beautiful green.
28. Green paint (more info) Paints may have a negative impact on the indoor air quality of a building because they may contain chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOC) other toxic components that evaporate into the air and are harmful to the health of occupants. VOC react with sunlight and nitrogen oxide to form ground level ozone, a chemical that has detrimental effects on human health. These problems can be eliminated by using low or zero VOC paints.
29. Bamboo (more info) Bamboo is one of the most amazingly versatile and sustainable building materials available. It grows remarkably fast and in a wide range of climates. It is exceedingly strong for its weight and can be used both structurally and as a finish material. There is a long vernacular tradition to the use of bamboo in structures in many parts of the world, especially in more tropical climates, where it grows into larger diameter canes. One tricky aspect to the use of bamboo is in the joinery; since its strength comes from its integral structure, it cannot be joined with many of the traditional techniques used with wood.
30. Adobe (more info) No, not photoshop! Adobe is one of the oldest building materials in use. It is basically just dirt that has been moistened with water, sometimes with chopped straw or other fibers added for strength, and then allowed to dry in the desired shape. Commonly adobe is shaped into uniform blocks that can be stacked like bricks to form walls, but it can also be simply piled up over time to create a structure. The best adobe soil will have between 15% and 30% clay in it to bind the material together, with the rest being mostly sand or larger aggregate. Too much clay will shrink and crack excessively; too little will allow fragmentation. Adobe is a good thermal mass material, holding heat and cool well. It does not insulate very well, so walls made of adobe need some means of providing insulation to maintain comfort in the building.
31. Cob (more info) Cob is a very old method of building with earth and straw or other fibers. It is quite similar to adobe in that the basic mix of clay and sand is the same, but it usually has a higher percentage of long straw fibers mixed in. The wonderful thing about cob construction is that it can be a wildly freeform. Cob walls are externally durable, lasting for centuries and create no pollution or disposal problems.
32. Cordwood (more info) Cordwood construction utilizes short, round pieces of wood, similar to what would normally be considered firewood. This method of building can be very resource efficient, since it makes use of wood that might not have much other value. Cordwood building can also create a wall that has both properties of insulation and thermal mass. This material produces a look that is both rustic and beautiful.
33. Earthbag (more info) Building with earthbags (aka called sandbags) is both old and new. Sandbags have long been used, particularly by the military for creating strong, protective barriers, or for flood control. The same reasons that make them useful for these applications carry over to creating housing: the walls are massive and substantial, they resist all kinds of severe weather (or even bullets and bombs), and they can be erected simply and quickly with readily available components. Newer polypropylene bags have superior strength and durability, as long as they are kept away from too much sunlight. For permanent housing the bags should be covered with some kind of plaster for protection.
34. PaperCrete (more info) A composite made from recycled paper and concrete. It can be used to replace concrete for most lightweight applications. Advantages are obviously its much lighter, resistant to cracks and makes use of otherwise disposed paper and boxes.
35. Poured earth (more info) Poured earth is similar to ordinary concrete, in that it is mixed and formed like concrete and uses portland cement as a binder. The main difference is that instead of the sand/gravel used as an aggregate in concrete, poured earth uses ordinary soil (although this soil needs to meet certain specifications) and generally uses less portland cement. Poured earth could be considered a “moderate strength concrete.” Little to no maintenance is required of poured earth walls, since they have a high resistance to the erosion (wear & tear) effects of water and heat (sun).
36. Straw bale (more info) Straw is a renewable resource that acts as excellent insulation and is fairly easy to build with. Care must be taken to assure that the straw is kept dry, or it will eventually rot. It is generally best to allow a straw bale wall to remain breathable as any moisture barrier will invite condensation and weaken the structure. Erecting bale walls can go amazingly quickly, and does not take a lot of skill, but then the rest of the creation of the building is similar to any other wood framed house. In fact straw bale houses typically save about 15% of the wood used in a conventionally framed house.
37. Futuristic Composites (more info) The possibilities are endless, as now with the resources and support from world governments and powerful & wealthy business magnates, more biological, hybrid and new materials are being produced every day that outperforms conventional construction materials in all aspects, while at the same time fulfilling all the criteria being an eco-friendly and sustainable material. An examples of these futuristic construction methods and sustainable materials are that large scale tests are now being done to 3D "print" a whole building or bridge. Now thats pretty impressive!
So are you looking forward to a brighter future with new age construction and building materials too? Check out the short video below! Video Courtesy of Minds Eye Design
