As more companies feature wood and other bio-based products in their offices, what are opportunities and limitations of making corporate net-zero carbon pledges about building materials?
Building collapses in Lagos are a frequent occurence.
US UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images
Current building codes do not include the most efficient way to keep houses standing and intact during tornadoes.
Bendable concrete created at the University of Michigan allows for thinner structures with less need for steel reinforcement.
Joseph Xu/University of Michigan College of Engineering
Researchers are developing ways to lock captured CO2 into cement. It could help rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure and deal with climate change at the same time.
Glass windows like these could be replaced with wood.
Shutterstock/Visions-AD
Treating wood with bleach can make it transparent.
In a year tied for the warmest on record globally, the U.S. was hit with costly hurricanes, wildfires, storms and drought.
AP Photo/Noah Berger and Gerald Herbert
NOAA released its list of climate and weather disasters that cost the nation more than $1 billion each. Like many climate and weather events this past year, it shattered the record.
A building designed to be easily taken apart so the components can be reused is a model for much less wasteful construction. It reduces resource use and environmental impacts, and can be cheaper too.
Developers pay more tax to refurbish than demolish and rebuild – but there’s a very easy fix.
With the tensile strength of steel but six times lighter, bamboo can be used for ambitious buildings once it has been treated to ensure its durability.
Courtesy of Green School Bali
Bamboo has been used since ancient times for building, but only in recent decades has pioneering work in Bali inspired its wider use for substantial and enduring structures.
Construction workers in Cape Town. It’s a dangerous job.
Nic Bothma/EPA
Air conditioning requires energy, and contributes to global warming – here are five ways of cooling which won’t cost the planet.
Illustration of ‘Axminster’ linoleum, in ‘Catesby’s one-piece linola squares’, Catesbys Colourful Cork Lino (1938).
BADDA 181, courtesy of the Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University, www.moda.mdx.ac.uk
Centralised policies are not meeting the needs of remote Indigenous settlements. Increasing their decision-making input and the role of local industry can overcome the challenges of building remotely.