Our top 9 low carbon construction materials

1. HEMPCRETE

Photo by Adrià Goula, Alexandre Gemper on ArchDaily

2. CORK

3. RAMMED EARTH

4. NATURAL LAID STONE

5. GREENWALLS

6. STRAW BALES

Photo by Purnesh Dev Nikhanj on ArchDaily

7. MUD BRICKS

Photo by Roberto D´ambrosio on ArchDaily

8. BAMBOO

9. RECYCLED MATERIALS

All materials that make it into your home or building have been through some kind of process beforehand, whether it’s harvested, extracted, treated, refined or transported there is an inherent energy and carbon cost associated with all construction materials. Recycled materials that are given a second life in construction can remove this cost from the equation meaning they can be a great choice for reducing the carbon footprint of your new home or building, not to mention reducing the amount of waste going into the environment.

SOURCES

Allinson, D., Hall, M. (2012). Humidity buffering using stabilized rammed earth materials. Construction Materials, 165, pp. 335-344.

Arrigoni, A., Pelosato, R., Melià, P., Ruggieri, G., Sabbadini, S. and Dotelli, G. (2017). Life cycle assessment of natural building materials: the role of carbonation, mixture components and transport in the environmental impacts of hempcrete blocks. Journal of Cleaner Production, 149, pp.1051–1061.

Clarke, D. (2020). Hemp masonry | YourHome. [online] www.yourhome.gov.au. Available at: https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/hemp-masonry.

Downton, P. (2013a). Green roofs and walls | YourHome. [online] www.yourhome.gov.au. Available at: https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/green-roofs-and-walls.

Downton, P. (2013b). Rammed Earth | YourHome. [online] www.yourhome.gov.au. Available at: https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/rammed-earth.

Downton, P. (2020a). Mud brick | YourHome. [online] www.yourhome.gov.au. Available at: https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/mud-brick.

Downton, P. (2020b). Straw bale | YourHome. [online] Yourhome.gov.au. Available at: https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/straw-bale.

Klemm, A. and Wiggins, D. (2016). Sustainability of natural stone as a construction material. Sustainability of Construction Materials, [online] pp.283–308. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780081003701000123

Mohan, N., Dash, S.P., Mary Boby, N. and Shetty, D. (2022). Study of bamboo as a building material – Construction & preservation techniques and its sustainability. Materials Today: Proceedings.

Terrapin (2014). 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design, Terrapin Bright Green. Available at: https://www.terrapinbrightgreen.com/reports/14-patterns/

Thorns, E. (2017). Could Cork Be Nature’s Answer to Our Environmental and Construction Needs? [online] ArchDaily. Available at: https://www.archdaily.com/884983/could-cork-be-natures-answer-to-our-environmental-and-construction-needs.

Water Sensitive SA (2020). Green Roofs Fact Sheet, Water Sensitive SA. Available at: https://www.watersensitivesa.com/wp-content/uploads/200311_green-roofs-fact-sheet_19WSA_FINAL-DRAFT.pdf