Sustainability needs to go further beyond inspiring speeches and promises, with visible, concrete actions. In order to see this change, it is essential for individuals, companies and governments to take responsibility and act in a sustainable manner in their daily lives and practices. By taking into account the environmental and social impacts of their decisions and seeking more conscious and responsible alternatives, they can take steps to ensure a sustainable future for the next generations. In the construction industry this is even more urgent. Responsible for a large amount of solid waste and greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential for this industry to adopt sustainable practices, such as recycling, to minimize environmental impacts.
However, even though product recycling processes have significantly advanced in recent years, there are still certain challenges associated with the use of recycled materials. This is due to a variety of factors, such as performance and durability, or even due to the difficulty of obtaining suitable raw materials. But there are also successful examples that show the possibilities of recycled materials.
In the contemporary context, as has been said a multitude of times, we seem to be living in what is classified as a digital age. A worldwide pandemic has enhanced the popularity of digital avenues to communicate — such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and the multiplatform messaging app WhatsApp is reported to have over 2 billion active users. From an environmental standpoint, we see the migration of businesses to the “cloud” heralded as a sustainability win. In simplified terms and to pick out a specific example, companies can refrain from storing data on external hard drives, opting instead to store their data on online file hosting services.
Form and function. Terms that accompany several definitions that belong to architecture, but more is needed to summarize the practice in 2023. Nowadays, building involves understanding the cycles of materials and how each action can be linked to the extraction of natural resources and their damage to the environment. We live in an urgent need to review the way we produce built space. In this search for models that move away from linear systems and provide a constant process of transformation and redistribution of matter, strategies arising from the circular economy emerge as a possible path. Its application in architectural heritage – for maintenance or restoration – can incentive the necessary changes toward a more sustainable society.
“Our planet is choking in plastic,” states the United Nations. While the man-made material has many valuable uses, our addiction to single-use plastic products has led to severe economic, health and environmental issues. Roughly one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute, and five trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide –used just once, then thrown away. Plastics and microplastics have found their way into every corner of our natural environment, from the peaks of the highest mountains to the depths of the deepest oceans. So much so, that they have become part of the Earth’s fossil record and created an entirely new marine microbial habitat known as the “plastisphere.”
Carbon footprint, circularity and environmental sustainability are terms that are increasingly present in many professional fields, but what do they mean? How do they relate to architecture and the built environment? We spoke with civil, environmental and sanitary engineer Lucas Rosse Caldas about these and other emerging architectural issues.
Lucas is a professor at the Graduate Program in Architecture at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and the Civil Engineering Program at the same institution. He participated in chapter 9 of the sixth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on buildings. He wrote several scientific and technical articles about architecture and sustainable construction.
A widely discussed topic lately, the circular economy encompasses a whole production and consumption system which pursues the reuse of existing materials as long as possible. However, how does this ongoing concept involve architecture, design and its aesthetics? Joining the shift towards a circular future, architecture is discovering how circular operations and the reuse of materials can result in new aesthetics, as well as in an overall improvement of its environmental impact.
Learning how circularity (and material reuse) creates distinctive aesthetics, the following article analyzes the way projects are reinterpreting their design process throughout three strategies: detachable, rustic and malleable architecture.
No-Fines Concrete with Steel Slag Samples by L.Korat et al. (2015). Image via ResearchGate. Licensed Under CC BY-SA 3.0
The construction industry is one of the largest in the world, and cement and concrete are literally the building blocks of its success. Evolving from prehistoric caves to today’s towering skyscrapers, concrete structures have and will continue to be vital components of modern civilization, providing long-lasting, reliable support for buildings, roads, bridges, tunnels and dams. So much so that concrete is the most consumed material on Earth, second only to water, while the steel used to reinforce it is by far the most commonly used metal. But this doesn’t come without high environmental costs: concrete accounts for 8% of global CO2 emissions, much of which come from the extraction and transportation of aggregate materials such as sand, gravel and crushed stone.
Add cabbage leaves, orange peels, onions, bananas and a few slices of pumpkin to get... cement. That's right, researchers from the University of Tokyo in Japan have developed a technique through which it is possible to produce cement from food waste. Besides being used in construction, the innovative initiative is edible as well. You can make boiled cement into a delicious meal by adjusting flavors, adding seasonings, and breaking it into pieces.
Cities are filled with waste materials and the need to reuse existing resources has become key in fighting the increase in waste production. More than a third of all the waste generated in the EU comes from construction and demolition, containing different materials such as glass, concrete, bricks and ceramics. But how to manage this staggering amount of waste production from construction? According to the Spanish Law on Waste and Contaminating Soils, concrete and ceramic waste with no considerable processing can both be reused in construction . By combining reused material waste with technology, architectural design can create innovative solutions that contribute to minimizing environmental impact.
The world’s most primitive construction materials are being used to create the most advanced buildings. In light of environmental crises, architects are focusing their efforts in designing better built environments for people and the planet. The results may often seem ‘greenwashed’, failing to address the root of ecological distress. Environmentally responsible architecture must aim not to reverse the effects of the ecological crisis, but instigate a revolution in buildings and how we inhabit them. Essays from the book The Art of Earth Architecture: Past, Present, Future envision a shift that will be a philosophical, moral, technological and political leap into a future of environmental resilience.
In Out Office / Alfredo Häberli. Image Courtesy of Andreu World
Interior architects and designers have often claimed that a well-designed office space will translate into greater productivity, creativity and worker satisfaction –yet the impact is greater than most tend to imagine. Recent studies suggest that good design positively impacts company culture, fosters a sense of community and creates a healthy, happy and motivating environment. In fact, it directly influences the recruitment and retention of talent: “workplace design significantly increases the attractiveness of employers to potential candidates.” Proper lighting, a flexible layout and biophilic features are all important factors to consider during the planning stage. But to fully address user comfort and well-being, these must be combined with excellent furniture design. After all, integrating high-quality ergonomic pieces is a simple way to boost mood and enhance functionality and aesthetics when creating or redecorating the workspace.
As climate change continues to reach unprecedented levels, many are pointing towards enhancing circularity in the construction sector. Essentially, the circular economy aims to eliminate waste and the continual use of resources by repeatedly reusing, repairing or recycling materials. The cyclical approach is able to meet demand and minimize CO2 emissions by extending a product’s lifespan, which is especially important when dealing with limited resources. Unlike the traditional linear extractive method –where everything goes through an extremely contaminating process of 'take-make-waste'–, circularity keeps materials in use for as long as possible to extract maximum value. This, in turn, reduces pollution, regenerates natural systems and contributes to a healthier built environment, hence building economic, natural, and social capital.
Render of affordable homes created out of plastic waste. Image Courtesy of Othalo
A lot of people around the world would agree that we are currently in a climate emergency. The IPCC report, released last year, makes for difficult reading. Practitioners in the built environment have taken to direct climate action, with organizations such as ACAN and Architects Declare fostering carbon literacy and calling for designers to re-evaluate how they practice.
When approaching the process of recycling building materials, there are a number of obstacles to achieving a comprehensive and effective result. First, careless demolition can make the process very complex, as products with different recycling products are often mixed. In addition, not all materials can be efficiently recycled or processed, as many still need expensive or overly complex processes. But the construction industry, being a huge contributor to waste production and greenhouse gas emissions, has also developed multiple new technologies to improve its practices. This is the case of the WOOL2LOOP project, which seeks to solve one of the biggest challenges in applying a circular approach to construction and demolition waste.
While circular economy is often discussed in relation to the architectural object through the lens of material recycling, design for disassembly, and material passports, the framework is most fully enacted at the neighbourhood and city scale. Whether it is visions of circular communities that hint at some level of self-sufficiency or policies set in motion by cities, urban-scale projects exemplify the guiding principles of the circular economy, providing a glimpse into what a fully-fledged version of it might look like. The following explores the strategies used in circular urban environments, from architecture and construction materials to energy production, waste management and food production, as well as the processes and operations that govern these designs, providing insights into the conditions that inform circularity.
In a new exhibition at AEDES Architecture Forum in Berlin, Norwegian architecture firm Mad arkitekter showcases four examples of sustainable architecture, stressing the importance of collaboration and cross-disciplinary for achieving climate goals. On view through until March 10, Mad About Dugnad – Work Together, Build Better echoes the Norwegian tradition of "dugnad", which refers to community solidarity towards achieving a common goal, a key concept in creating solutions for a sustainable future.
The new biennial event Architekturwoche Basel (AWB) will debut this May as a platform for discussing architecture and urban development through the lens of sustainable construction and the circular economy. The inaugural edition also marks the launch of the first Basel Pavilion, a temporary structure meant to showcase new possibilities for environmentally-friendly building practices. The winning design, “Loggia Basileana”, created by architecture practice isla, is made of reused building components and features a series of modules that form a continuous pedestrian passageway along the train tracks on the Dreispitz site.
Much has been said about circularity in the construction industry. Inspired by nature, the circular economy works in a continuous process of production, resorption and recycling, self-managing and naturally regulating itself, where waste can turn into supplies for the production of new products. It is a very interesting concept, but it faces some practical difficulties in everyday life, whether in the demolition / disassembly process, or in the correct disposal of materials and waste; but mostly due to the lack of technologies available to recycle or give new use to construction materials. About 40% of all waste generated on Planet Earth comes from civil construction, and a good part of it could be recycled. Concrete is an especially important material because of its large carbon footprint in production, its ubiquity and massive use, and also because of the difficulty of recycling or reusing it.
