A growing emphasis on green building is pushing construction firms to find new uses for existing buildings rather than tearing them down and starting fresh. Adaptive reuse gives new life to historical structures, reducing demolition and redevelopment costs and environmental impact.
New York City’s High Line is an excellent example, transforming a disused elevated railway into a lush public park. Adaptive reuse can also minimize landfill waste.
Recycled Materials
Reusing materials for building purposes is a key element of green construction. It can reduce resource consumption, waste and pollution. Recycled materials can also make for more efficient structures, resulting in lower energy costs.
Many construction materials can be recycled, such as wood, paper, metal and glass. However, not all recycled materials are created equal. A recycled material must be able to undergo an intensive recycling process in order to regain its original form. This is known as remanufacturing. This process transforms a material, such as used office paper or polystyrene foam into new material. This is different from reclaiming, which involves using 2nd hand material that does not need to be remanufactured, such as old bricks or wood cutoffs.
Using recycled materials can also help to reduce landfill consumption and the adverse aquatic effects of runoff. This can enhance environmental sustainability levels and contribute to atmospheric conservation. Reducing reliance on natural resources helps to avoid deforestation, which leads to habitat destruction and limits Earth’s natural carbon filtering.
More and more architects, engineers and builders are utilizing recycled materials in their designs and building projects. This is an exciting development for sustainable architecture, where beauty and functionality coexist harmoniously. Some inspiring projects include the SOS Community Center, which uses recycled car windows and windshields in its facade. Another project is the Two-Litre Soda Bottle School in the Philippines, which is made from plastic soda bottles that are filled with adobe, an inexpensive, strong and durable cement alternative.
Structural Elements
Structural elements are those that carry the weight of a building, including its furniture, fittings and appliances. They are categorized into two broad categories: structural and non-structural components. They can be split into further sub-elements based on the construction techniques, for example, a beam could be divided into one or more struts.
The structure of a historic building can be made of brick and concrete elements, such as walls, floors, windows, doors and a roof. Historic materials are often in excellent technical condition and should not be discarded due to modern utility challenges, especially since they are unique and offer a rich heritage of architectural solutions and materials.
It is possible to reuse many of these materials without the need for requalification and reprocessing in new buildings. This is a key step towards a more circular building sector, allowing for greater resource efficiency, lower energy use and better quality sustainable materials and waste recycling [15].
Deconstruction as an alternative to demolition plays an important role in the shift towards a more circular economy, helping reduce waste destined for landfill and enabling better reuse and recycling of materials for a new lifecycle. This can be achieved through the so-called Design for Deconstruction (DfD) approach that involves considering deconstruction as a part of the initial design phase, thus avoiding demolition at the end of the building’s lifecycle [16]. This allows to define which parts of the building are structural and non-structural, and enables the assessment of their degree of deconstructability and potential for reuse.
Interior Elements
For interior elements, a variety of strategies can be employed to promote healthy material use. These include sourcing materials with a lower embodied energy and/or toxicity. Health-oriented design practices like the Living Building Challenge and ILFI have a robust red list of toxins to avoid, while LEED and WELL certifications have resource guides to identify health-focused materials. Ingredient disclosures such as Declare and HSDS can also be useful tools to help build teams make better decisions for a healthier materials use in their projects.
Another important consideration for selecting building materials is understanding the ecological costs associated with them. These include the initial embodied energy cost to extract, manufacture, transport and install them as well as the ongoing operational energy costs of using them, maintaining them and ultimately discarding or recycling them. It is also important to consider social costs related to the people who make, transport and use the materials as well as those charged with removing and disposing of them at the end of their life.
Finally, biophilic elements such as regenerative mycelium and living walls are both excellent examples of materials that can contribute to the overall health of a space. They can help evoke a sense of connection with nature and provide an opportunity to create healthy indoor environments. They can even improve air quality and help reduce noise levels.
Exterior Elements
Building materials that are used on a facade or exterior can play a big role in a home’s overall aesthetic. They’re often chosen for their ability to withstand environmental factors like rain, sun and heat. Whether it’s wood accents in the front door, windows or fence, or concrete on the walls and patio railings, these exterior elements can work together to create a cohesive look.
Many of these exterior building materials are sourced locally, which reduces the impact on the environment and allows for quick availability. Rustic concrete, for example, is a popular choice for homeowners in mountainous regions. Its natural patina color varies depending on the climate and can add a beautiful accent to any home design.
Brick is another durable exterior building material that’s easy to customize and suits many different styles. It can be laid in a stacked bond to create a modern look or in a herringbone pattern for a more traditional feel. It also absorbs sound well and can be cladded with a variety of colors and textures to complement the surrounding landscape.
Innovative exterior finishing materials can include paints that use nanotechnology to help cool a building and protect it from harmful UV rays. They can also be made of recycled plastics and a non-toxic biochar that’s made of forest and agricultural waste. The material is porous and can capture carbon effectively, preventing it from decomposing into the atmosphere.