The world is shifting from abundance to sustainability. Construction companies have joined the environmental preservation bandwagon. The latest construction industry trends focus on applying cost-effective, durable, environmentally conscious materials.
The end product is to produce strong, aesthetically pleasing, resilient, and adaptable buildings. As a result, companies have developed six innovative building materials to know in 2024.
Recycling is a particularly important consideration. Plastic waste often finds its way into new building materials in commercial buildings.
This post discusses six innovative building materials to know in 2024. With these materials, you will ensure sustainability with a positive environmental impact when you’re learning how to design your own home.
1. Self-healing concrete
If you’re wondering how to design your own home, we have something for you here. Cement is a very important natural resource. However, when concrete (made with cement) cracks, it poses a threat to the environment. Making cement creates a lot of pollution and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Fixing cracked concrete is also very expensive and takes time and resources. Self-healing concrete is a good solution because it can save money and resources.
Self-healing concrete is a special type made by mixing cement with bacteria called Bacillus. When this concrete cracks, the bacteria help fill the cracks with limestone. This helps the concrete repair itself. Commercial buildings made with self-healing concrete don’t need to be fixed as often.
As a result, it saves money and helps the environment. Other measures that can be bad for the environment.
2. Bioplastic
Instead of throwing away plastic waste, the industry can recycle it by turning it into bioplastic. Bioplastic is strong because it has a natural substance called lignin in it. This material can be used in different ways during building.
Bioplastic also comes in many colours that don’t fade as easily as regular paint. Therefore, this is a viable way to make the outside of buildings look colourful.
You can also mould bioplastics in different strength levels. Therefore, you can use it in various stages of the building process.
3. Carbon fibre
Carbon fibre presents an enticing option for construction professionals. The material is lighter than steel while being five times stronger. Additionally, it is twice as stiff, making it one of the most sought-after alternatives. Steel has long served as the material of choice when building taller and stronger structures. Carbon fibre takes the game a step further with its properties.
The ease of handling and diverse options for manipulating carbon fibre makes it ideal for prefabricated construction. Additionally, it reduces reliance on steel.
4. Prefabrication and the modular approach
While no specific material singularly accomplishes this idea, combining new technologies and choosing the right sustainable materials enable this efficient and cost-effective approach to construction projects.
Prefabrication is the construction solution where parts of a building are designed and made off-site. They are then transported to the construction site for sustainable building. The modular construction approach allows for agility.
As such, you can change the design of a building depending on your space requirements. You can also redesign the building to suit its new purpose. This concept is possible by using recycled materials, which are lighter and stronger. This approach is also energy-efficient.
5. Compressed earth
This new building material offers a superior alternative to traditional building materials such as concrete. Instead of using concrete blocks in construction, you can rely on these blocks. That way, you will save up on precious earth resources.
While you’ll still need soil, it is the better option. Cement production has depleted significantly more portions of our terrain than harvesting soil. The soil is combined with water and then compressed into blocks. The blocks are then cured to attain strength and rigidity that rivals concrete blocks. Different soil colours also help give these blocks their distinctive looks.
6. Cross-laminated timber
Cross-laminated timber has propelled wood back to the frontline of building and construction. In recent years, steel and glass overtook timber in construction projects. This is partly due to the inherent dangers of using too much wood in buildings, such as fires and rotting.
Cross-laminated timber serves to address those concerns. In addition, it offers a stronger, thicker, and more aesthetically appealing building material. You can even use this in your home decor.
The material is made from stacking pieces of cured wood slabs to create a larger, stronger material. This material can withstand natural forces well and maintain your building’s structural rigidity.
