While bamboo has long been celebrated in parts of Asia for its strength, speed and sustainability, Australia is only just beginning to recognise its potential as a viable building material – and a powerful tool in the climate response.
Concrete is the most widely used man-made material on Earth, second only to water in global consumption. Its ubiquity in construction has made it indispensable. However, this utility comes at a significant environmental cost: concrete production is responsible for approximately 8 per cent of global carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.
Material passports are a digital tool that make the environmental and economic value of materials visible throughout a building’s lifecycle.
It seems to be human nature to think linearly. Time, chronology, forward and back, this equals that – but this two-dimensional comprehension is not going to solve some of the more pressing issues of our time. V-ZUG’s Head of Sustainability Marcel Niederberger is turning the linearity of production and supply chains into a wheel.
Melbourne Design Week is now in its ninth year, continuing to grow in scale and ambition. I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural event as editor of Australian Design Review — and it’s remarkable to see the shift since then. This year, a surge of shows explores bio-materiality, waste and reuse with new urgency. Here are 10 exhibitions worth adding to your list.
Studio Truly Truly’s latest lighting design for Rakumba, Big Glow is a bold material experiment fusing innovation and sustainability.
The Floating Bamboo House by H&P Architects reimagines traditional housing through the lens of climate urgency and local tenacity.
Researchers at RMIT University have developed an innovative way to transform spent coffee grounds into a high-performance construction material, strengthening concrete while tackling the mounting problem of organic waste.
The explosion of bio-composites as a new avenue for materials without petro-chemicals is a process that has been going on longer than we might think.
Hempcrete vs. Concrete – which one comes out on top? Discover the sustainable advantages of hempcrete over concrete in this detailed comparison.
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