When it comes to our daily living and business decisions, environmental impact is a broad topic that we are paying attention to. With declining fossil fuels and the threat of global climate change, reducing our energy consumption is an essential survival strategy. Choosing to build green saves energy. The low embodied energy of green products ensures that very little energy goes into the manufacture and production, with a direct reduction in carbon emissions.
Environmentally friendly building materials are those that do not harm the environment during their manufacture, usage, or disposal, and are easily recyclable. This design methodology is gaining popularity and can further reduce energy consumption by minimising energy inputs for heating, cooling and light and incorporating energy-efficient appliances. A green home emits fewer greenhouse gases and conserves energy, resulting in cheaper energy expenses.
We can now look for products created from natural, renewable resources, as well as products with recycled content. Here's our guide on more preferred eco-friendly building materials:
Bamboo
Bamboo is gaining popularity as an eco-friendly building material. Bamboo's quick growth makes it incredibly sustainable. While it’s possible to replace pine and cedar trees, the procedure can take years. Whereas, bamboo can be reforested faster and is found all over the planet. Bamboo is a natural composite material that, like actual wood, has a high strength-to-weight ratio and can be used in construction. It also has a compressive strength greater than wood, brick, or concrete, as well as a tensile strength comparable to steel.
Looking for some inspiration? Take a look at the Architect’s Village Bamboo Skyscraper where CRG Architects created an architecture idea to achieve a high standard of urban and contemporary high-rise sustainable design in Singapore.
Cork
Similar to bamboo, cork is a fast-growing resource. It receives extra credit for being collected from a living tree that will continue to grow and create cork, which is a type of tree bark.
Cork is pliable and resilient, and it will return to its original shape after being pressed. Its sound-absorbing properties make it ideal for insulation sheets, and its shock-absorbing properties make it ideal for sub-flooring. Cork isn't just fantastic for keeping your wine fresh; it's also an excellent insulator in the home. It’s naturally fire-resistant and doesn’t emit harmful fumes when burned if left untreated. If you’re curious about how to apply them onto your floors for a cosy ambience at home, this might help.
Recycled Steel
Steel is 100% recyclable, lowering the environmental effect of new buildings. It’s the most recyclable material on the planet and is recycled more than plastic, paper, aluminium, and glass combined every year. It can be used in place of wood in the framing process, boosting the structure's resistance to earthquakes and severe winds. Building a 2,000-square-foot house takes roughly 50 trees, while a recycled steel frame only takes the steel equivalent of six discarded vehicles. When you use recycled steel in the construction process, you can rest assured that it will be sturdy and long-lasting.
Natural Wool
The wool sheared off the sheep's body is known as natural wool. Natural wool can be a good insulating material. These wools can be stuffed into the walls to keep the cold out in the winter. The sheep's body regrows the wool after it has been sheared. So, no sheep are killed during the shearing procedure. Sheep's wool is a completely natural and environmentally beneficial material.
Straw Bale
Straw bale is a sustainable building material that may be used to create environmentally friendly walls. It’s beneficial because it maintains a temperature equilibrium in the room. Straw bales have been used for insulation for decades. Straw bales, like wool, are commonly used to maintain temperature stability in walls, attics, and ceilings. Straw may be harvested and replanted with low environmental impact because it is a renewable resource.
Farmers who are burning off their straw after harvest are a common supply of straw material. Instead of releasing the straw's embodied carbon into the atmosphere when it is destroyed, which contributes to increased carbon emissions, repurposing this waste by-product into compressed ceiling and wall panels ensures that it retains its carbon content in the most environmentally friendly way possible. Ever wondered how this material can transform into cutting-edge straw bale homes? See it with your own eyes.
Precast Concrete Slabs
Precast concrete is eco-friendly and can help you live in a healthy home. Precast concrete is durable and cost-effective. These concrete slabs can be used to build walls, and some of them can also be used for flooring. They can keep your house cool and pleasant. The production of these concrete slabs emits very little carbon. The slabs are also created using lesser energy and natural resources. Furthermore, after the walls have been demolished, these slabs can be repurposed as road materials.
Reclaimed or Recycled Wood
Probably the most popular eco-friendly building material for a good reason – it’s aesthetically pleasing, simple to use, and gives the impression that you're in the middle of nature.
One of the most environmentally friendly ways to save trees and minimise the amount of timber in landfills is to use salvaged wood. Reclaimed wood is found in abandoned barns, excavation firms, house remodelling contractors and companies, salvage yards, and shipping crates and pallets, among other places.
Strong beams, flooring, and highly unusual patterns can all be made from recycled wood. These recovered woods are easy to maintain and don't require much colour. If you use recycled wood, you will be helping to save trees. There will be less wood burning, and you will be able to save the environment from hazardous fumes. Take a look at these sustainable wooden homes around the world to see how others are experimenting with wood’s versatility.
There are many reasons why eco-friendly construction methods and materials should be used. It has the potential to improve the health of our world as well as our own lives. It also serves to strengthen local businesses and the economy, which helps to transform our communities into dynamic, prosperous, and appealing places to live. What’s your preferred eco-friendly building material? We would love to hear from you. Connect with us on Instagram!