Prebuilt
Commercial
Prebuilt
03–07–2020

Sustainability Across the Globe

The future of residential construction is becoming greener as demand for sustainable materials and practices increases. We take a look across the globe at some innovative solutions from businesses to reduce waste, recycle materials and create timeless sustainable designs. Australia’s current climate emergency has seen architects nationwide fast-track their initiative to become carbon neutral by December 2020.

 

 

 

 

Manly, Queensland

Rammed Earth Constructions has been specialising in rammed earth since 1989. The many advantages of building with rammed earth include superior thermal mass, temperature and noise control, strength and durability, low maintenance, fire proofing, load bearing and pest deterrence, as well as its beauty and the pleasure of building with a natural and environmentally sound material.

Rammed Earth is one of the longest standing building materials that has been used for centuries.  With time and advancements in technology we have seen rammed earth become a variation of mud brick or adobe type construction, with a wider range of soil types used to complete the process.

http://www.rammedearthconstructions.com.au/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brooklyn, USA

IceStone began in 2003 with a simple concept; transform waste glass into something beautiful. They are one of several companies making stunning countertops out of recycled glass. The glass they use is all recycled, and it makes up about 70% of the countertops by weight. The pigments are all non-toxic and give surfaces bright and bold colors, as well as soft and elegant neutrals. IceStone also carries the PaperStone line, which is made of 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and QuartzStone-mainly crafted with crushed waste stone.

To date, the company has diverted 16 million pounds of glass from landfills. IceStone has a strict criteria when sourcing materials, making sure that their glass is up to their high standards, which means it shouldn’t contain any contaminants and ensuring that their materials don’t contain petrochemicals or VOC’s. IceStone is NSF certified.

www.icestoneusa.com

 

 

 

 

Image Sources

Fireclay
Rammed Earth Constructions & Unknown
Kebony Technology
Icestone





 

 

Joining the #ArchitectsDeclare movement, these firms have signed a global pledge to implement sustainability initiatives within every aspect of business operation to drastically tackle the impacts of climate change. For the property & construction industry this means we will see wasteful typologies and building practices abolished and more sustainable designs & products introduced. A key player in this movement has been Australia Bricks who have achieved carbon neutral certification for bricks and pavers made at its Longford operation. We look forward to seeing more advancements in the near future.

 

 

 

San Francisco

Fireclay’s Crush Tiles. Made from recycled materials including glass, each tile is manufactured using sustainable principles and crafted by hand, without the use of lead. This makes Fireclay a pioneer for environmentalism in this space.

Fireclay does not keep any stock of their tiles, meaning each and every order is made by hand! This helps in their effort to remain sustainable and to avoid waste. Their tiles and glazed thin bricks are heirloom in quality with a commitment to durability and standing the test of time.

https://www.fireclaytile.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denmark

Een til Een is a Danish firm that created the world’s first “Biological House”. Designers developed a process that converts agricultural waste (including grass, straw and seaweed) into raw building materials, leaving virtually zero impact upon the environment.

The project was supported by the Danish Ministry of the Environment Fund for Ecological Construction and was designed by advanced digital production technology, guided by sustainability at every stage.

The architects sourced various agricultural “leftovers” for the project’s building materials. Mounds of recovered grass, straw and seaweed – all of which would, under normal circumstances, be burned for energy – were processed into raw materials to be used in the home’s construction. Not only were the products upcycled, but the environmental impact of burning them was avoided.

https://inhabitat.com/the-worlds-first-biological-house-opens-in-denmark/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




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