Innovative building materials can help builders solve ongoing issues, reduce carbon footprints and make their buildings more attractive. These cutting-edge materials are becoming increasingly popular in construction projects around the world.
From bamboo concrete to facades that absorb pollution, these new materials are transforming the way we build. Some of them even grow themselves!
Cross-laminated timber
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a new construction material that is revolutionizing wood-based buildings. It is an alternative to concrete and steel, with superior acoustic, fire, seismic and thermal performance. It is also environmentally friendly, with low embodied energy and waste.
CLT is a prefabricated wood product that consists of layers of kiln-dried dimension lumber arranged at right angles to each other and glued together. It has a very high structural rigidity and offers superior strength-to-weight ratio compared to concrete, steel, or masonry. It also allows for greater design flexibility and faster construction, reducing costs and minimizing waste. It also has a lower carbon footprint than other building materials, with fewer greenhouse gas emissions during production.
This innovative material is used in the construction of residential and commercial projects. Its use is growing worldwide, with a focus on sustainable architecture and urban planning. Its strength and lightness make it a great option for large structures, such as office towers and public spaces. Its prefabricated design allows for reduced onsite work, which reduces cost and increases safety.
There are numerous architectural projects that utilize this innovative material, including the first eight-story block of flats in Finland designed by OOPEAA. Another example is the multi-sport court of La Tourelle Secondary school designed by ECDM Architects. These projects demonstrate the versatility of CLT, which can be used for different types of building typologies and climatic conditions.
Bioplastic
The building industry is constantly looking for new materials that can make construction better, more efficient and sustainable. Some of these innovative materials are a result of advancing technology, while others have been around for decades but have only recently found their way into construction projects.
For example, carbon fibre is a material that is becoming increasingly popular in construction. It is lightweight, but also strong and durable. It can be used to reinforce concrete structures and provide fire resistance. It can also be used to reduce the thickness of wooden panels, making them lighter and cheaper.
Another material that is growing in popularity in construction is bioplastic. It is made from renewable biomass sources such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, sawdust, or recycled food waste. It can be biodegradable or non-biodegradable, depending on the chemical structure and production process.
Bioplastics can also be carbon-negative, absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere during their lifecycle. They can also be recycled or reused, reducing the need for virgin plastics. Bioplastics are an important part of future circular economies, allowing us to achieve some of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals1.
Biodegradable plastic
Plastic is a very pervasive material, but there are now innovative alternatives to traditional plastic. These biodegradable products use a specialized enzymatic or chemical process to break down into natural materials without harming the environment. They also require less energy to manufacture than standard plastics, so they help reduce fossil fuel consumption. Nearly 2.7 percent of a country’s petroleum is used to produce traditional plastic, but biodegradable polymers can be made with less.
Bioplastics can be just as moldable as traditional plastics and can be shaped in many appealing ways. They are easy to recycle and don’t release toxic chemicals. However, they don’t decompose in landfills because they lack the essential resources for biodegradation – heat, light and oxygen. If they are mixed with non-biodegradable plastics, they can contaminate recycling streams.
In the future, biodegradable plastics may be used to create building materials. One company has developed a material that looks and feels like concrete but uses a fraction of the carbon dioxide emissions. The material could be used to replace traditional concrete in homes and offices.
Another exciting development is the use of mushroom-derived biomaterials for construction. Blast Studio in London, for example, has developed a 3D printing method that uses mycelium, the branching vegetative part of a fungus, to make load-bearing structural elements. The material is fire-proof and sequesters carbon.
Memory steel
Traditionally, steel is a key component of most building materials. But it can be too heavy for some applications. Carbon fibre, for example, can be 75% lighter than iron and is being used more and more in construction. It is also being used to reinforce traditional building materials such as bricks and reinforced concrete blocks, to reduce their weight and increase their strength.
Another innovative material for the future is memory steel. Developed by Empa and its spin-off company re-fer AG, this new iron alloy can be heated only once to prestress it. This allows it to be embedded in concrete structures, sidestepping the need for hydraulic pre-stressing. The alloy has a special property called shape memory, which means that the strain can be recovered simply by increasing its temperature.
The material can be heated using a brief electric current or an infrared device, and its shape can be altered to suit the needs of different applications. It is being used by re-fer and Empa in various pilot projects to reinforce existing concrete structures.
Other exciting new building materials include bamboo, which is increasingly being used in the construction of houses and offices in East Asia. It is not only strong and durable, but it is also self-extinguishing and air purifying. It also massively cuts a building’s embodied and operational carbon footprint.