Title : Sustainable Materials for Building Construction
Authors : Sanjay Pant
Publication :
Volume :
Pages : 14-Jan
Price : 250
Abstract : Building material choice is important in sustainable building design and construction because of the extensive network of activities such as extraction, processing and transportation steps required for making a material, and the activities involved thereafter during design and till building construction. These activities have large potential for polluting air, soil and water, as well as for depleting natural resources and destroying natural habitats. An ideal sustainable building material is not only environment friendly, causes no adverse impact on health of occupants and is readily available, but also can be reclaimed, recycled, made from renewable raw materials and uses predominantly renewable energy in its extraction, production and transportation, and yet has requisite performance capabilities. Practically this kind of ideal material may not be available, hence when selecting sustainable materials, it may be best to choose materials which fulfill most of these criteria. Life cycle analysis with respect to various criteria such as embodied energy, resource reuse and upgradation, recycled content, reusability or recyability, abundance, local availability, rapid renewability, compliance in maintaining clean air and water, etc aids in making such a choice. This paper discusses various building materials and their variants, such as structural materials like cement concrete, burnt clay products, traditional efficient building materials, stone, timber, plastics, metals, bamboo, and various finishing materials, with a view to making appropriate selection keeping in mind all such criteria.