Expansion of construction is much needed all around the world. According to some estimates, the world’s 20 largest cities will need 36 million new housing units in the next five years. While this expansion will provide many people with a roof over their head, it can also have devastating effects on the environment. Luckily, there are some techniques and trends in architecture and construction that can reduce water waste, lower carbon footprints and improve the health of everyone involved in the project.
Passive building design
Before we turn to energy management, it’s smart to take a look at techniques that will lower energy consumption to begin with, mainly through temperature and lighting control. The passive design maximizes natural lighting and ventilation and controls indoor temperature all year round. These design techniques make buildings more functional and comfortable, but also cheaper to maintain. The money that was used for energy and lighting costs can now be aimed at other areas.
Energy-efficient illumination
Once ignored and neglected, lighting today is one of the most important green architectural solutions. While old technologies like CFL, fluorescent and high-pressure sodium are out, LED is finally getting its rightful place as the greenest illumination option. They are more efficient, non-toxic and have a much longer life span. There are other benefits of LEDs not directly connected to green building, but they also add to the attractiveness of this illumination choice. However, hiring professionals in LED lighting is the only guarantee that you’ll get quality products and good installation. No matter the project—public lighting, architectural lighting or industrial lighting, experts need to be involved to conduct research and installation for the best results.
Sustainable materials
When passive building design mixes with sustainable construction materials, we can get plenty of eco-friendly benefits. New materials from self-healing concrete to wood sourced from responsibly-managed farms are all becoming progressively more popular for construction. Most sustainable materials are still just a trend, but thanks to increased demand in green materials and stronger governmental pressure, they might soon become industry standards.
Salvaged materials
Every year, over 160 million tons of construction waste gets sent to landfills only in the US, much of which comes from buildings demolished just to be replaced with new buildings. Luckily, we can see that the so-called ‘circular construction’ is getting more and more popular. But what is circular construction? It involves salvaging as much raw material as possible to cut costs and reduce greenhouse gas emission released during new material manufacturing processes. This trend is visible especially in Europe where both contractors and owners choose to treat existing buildings as materials banks that hold useful materials for future projects. Using BIM (Building Information Modeling) demolitionists can calculate just how much of a structure can be dismantled and salvaged.
Off-site building
Modular or off-site construction is getting more and more popular among eco-friendly contractors. This approach to construction is environmentally-conscious because it keeps tolerances high but also reduces overage and scrap. There’s much less waste when a module is assembled in a controlled environment than on the building site. Also, thanks to finished modules and prefabricated parts, a contractor only needs to assemble the project instead of building it from scratch—this greatly reduces project completion time. Today, only a small percentage of items and units were prefabricated off-site, but as the sustainability movement grows and becomes more attractive to buyers, we can expect this trend to skyrocket in the near future.
Cooling roofs
Made with special shingles, sheet coverings or painted over with highly reflective paint, cool roofs manage to reflect heat and keep the building they are covering cooler in the summer. While they are not necessarily more expensive than traditional roofs, it’s important to study the situation and see whether such an eco-friendly trend is worth it for you. Cool roofs stay about 50 degrees cooler than normal roofs, so if you live in a warm climate with plenty of sun, you can reap some energy-saving benefits and reduce your electricity bills.
Container homes
This trend is also growing day by day since the housing crisis is becoming worse. If this type of home or office building is the right for you, you can reap many benefits. Firstly, since containers are reused, you can lower the demand for virgin resources and prevent the metal from being melted down (massive energy consummation). Secondly, turning a shipping container into a house is a quick process that doesn’t require a lot of money—anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000 is more than enough. Also, container homes are durable and safe being able to withstand everything from hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes. And if insulated by a professional, they can stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
With an ever-growing demand for green building methods and sustainable materials, we can expect to see big changes in the construction and architecture industries. More recycled materials, more renewable energy efficient design solutions, more smart technology innovations will push green building to its maximum and allow us to enjoy a cleaner and safe future.