The Matter that doesn't Matter
Yixia (Sarah) Zhang, Western Sydney University; Khin Soe, Western Sydney University, and Yingying Guo, UNSW Concrete is the most widely used man-made material, commonly used in buildings, roads, bridges and industrial plants. But producing the Portland cement needed to make Continue reading Green cement a step closer to being a game-changer for construction emissions
John Mathews, Macquarie Graduate School of Management Cement production is one of the dirtiest industrial processes on the planet. It produces nearly 9% of global carbon emissions. This increases every year with the extraordinary demands for building materials in China Continue reading Eco-cement, the cheapest carbon sequestration on the planet
Rackel San Nicolas, University of Melbourne Cement is the world’s most widely used material apart from water, largely because it is the key ingredient in concrete, the world’s favourite building material. But with cement’s success comes a huge amount of Continue reading Greening the concrete jungle: how to make environmentally friendly cement
Pete Walker, University of Bath Straw is cheap, good for the environment and an excellent insulator. So why don’t we see more straw houses? Unless we suddenly stop eating bread or cereal it’ll keep being produced anyway, and the excess Continue reading Straw homes are a cheap and green fix for the housing crisis
Dirk Hebel, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Bamboo, a common grass which can be harder to pull apart than steel, has the potential to revolutionise building construction throughout the world. But that’s not all. As a raw material found Continue reading Bamboo could turn the world’s construction trade on its head
Walter Menteth, University of Portsmouth The construction of new buildings in the UK emits 48 megatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) each year – that’s equal to the net emissions of the entire country of Scotland. The materials, transportation and construction Continue reading Refurbishing old buildings reduces emissions – but outdated tax rates make it expensive
Alastair Marsh, University of Bath and Venkatarama Reddy, Indian Institute of Science The world is about to experience one of the biggest housing booms in history over the coming decades. In the UK, the housing crisis is a recurring news Continue reading ‘Supermud’ bricks could help tackle the world’s housing crisis and cut carbon emissions that cause climate change
Martyn Dade-Robertson, Newcastle University You might be disappointed to hear that some intriguing underwater structures recently discovered off the Greek island of Zakynthos are not part of the lost city of Atlantis. But the structures, which resemble colonnades of cobble Continue reading The cities of the future could be built by microbes
Brant Walkley, University of Sheffield August 22 is Earth Overshoot Day, which marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. This results from massive consumption of ecological Continue reading Sustainable cement: the simple switch that could massively cut global carbon emissions