Conventional buildings are amongst the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, even more than that of the transport and industry sector. Apart from affecting urban air quality they can also be hazardous to health. This has led to the growth in demand for sustainable building material whose market is estimated to be around US$40 billion by 2012.
Sustainable building materials and equipment which have gained popularity are the likes of high performance glass, wall and roof insulation, low VOC paints, adhesives, sealants, specialised wood, roofing material, fly ash blocks, eco-friendly chemical waterless urinals, high performance chillers, carbon-dioxide sensors, root zone treatment plants, wind towers, among others.
Use of recycled material
Sustainable architecture also incorporates the use of recycled material and reuse of waste such as reclaimed lumber. There are both post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content. Among post-consumer content is automobile tyres recycled as rubber flooring. Post industrial content includes making concrete from fly ash from the smoke stacks of coal burning power plants, and making roof shingles from PVC scrap from pipe manufacturing.
Post-consumer or post-industrial recycled building material normally requires much less processing than a new product. For instance, recycled glass tiles are simply melted and made new.
Using salvaged material
Using salvaged building material is another wonderful way of making eco-friendly buildings. As salvaged material requires no production it totally eliminates the chemicals that would otherwise be released into the environment during manufacturing. It also eliminates the need to burn fuel to produce such material.
When new material is required
Whenever new items are required architects of sustainable buildings look for materials such as bamboo, which can be harvested for commercial use after only 6 years of growth, sorghum or wheat straw, both of which are waste material that can be pressed into panels, or cork oak, in which only the outer bark is removed for use, thus preserving the tree. Often wood is cut to make room for the new structure. Wood from such trees can be reused as part of the building.
Insulation materials used in buildings often contain carcinogenic or toxic materials such as formaldehyde. For insulation sustainable buildings use low VOC (volatile organic compound)-emitting materials such as recycled denim or cellulose insulation. Treatment with boric acid will prevent insect damage to these alternate insulation materials. Instead of chemical paints, organic or milk-based paints may be used.
