Attention is being cast on blue biomass – materials made from seaweed, seagrass, algae and shell-based minerals. This revolution is starting to move from lab bench to building site, widening the bio-based toolkit without using arable land or freshwater.
Could discarded cardboard become the future of sustainable construction? Researchers at RMIT think so, with a breakthrough that fuses waste and earth into strong, reusable walls.
And why architects and makers should start paying attention.
In commercial interiors, the focus, understandably, is on the beginning. The crisp fit-out, the promise of a new space, the energy of a fresh start. But it’s the end of the lease – when the space is returned that holds untapped potential. The defit stage, while often overlooked, is where the real environmental gains can happen.
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.
The most exciting architecture being built right now is sustainable. About Futures covers the groundbreaking materials, the alternative building processes, and the people reimagining what home can look like when it’s designed for the future.
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