In Delft, The Netherlands, the construction of a large-scale wooden building has started, The Urban Woods. This will pave the way towards sustainable high-rise building construction in the Netherlands. High-rise … Read more
Applications of graphene, that wonderful material, multiply all the time. The latest news concerns its application in concrete. Adding graphene to concrete can render it extremely strong and much more … Read more
A revolution has taken place in the construction industry: the development of mass timber, the technical term for industrial timber. It allows for the construction of innovative buildings. Mass timber … Read more
The world is rediscovering timber. Thanks to new technologies that open up new constructive techniques; and to a better appreciation of sustainability. MaterialDistrict, a Dutch foundation, has published Tomorrow’s timber, … Read more
Bringing nature back into cities, in the form of trees, can help fight global warming. Climate change is the challenge of the century. The last UN Environment Emissions Gap Report … Read more
Some proponents of affordable housing may be under the impression that sustainable homes are more expensive to construct and maintain than those built using traditional means. However, there are actually … Read more
To date, most 3D printed buildings have been built from concrete. Could 3D printed bioplastic be a more sustainable option? Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is a major part of … Read more
As global housing programs are gearing up, the world will need a staggering amount of construction material over the next few decades. This will put a strain on resources, and … Read more
Concrete degradation is one of the most costly problems of our time. Concrete will always crack, although less so if well-designed and well-constructed. Cracks will allow water and air to … Read more
The ecological properties of hemp makes it one of the types of insulation used in construction with the lowest carbon emissions footprint. A relatively recent interest in hemp as a … Read more
Researchers of the University of Bath (UK) and ModCell Ltd have developed straw as a low-impact and viable modern building material. As they say, ‘our research has made affordable, environmentally-friendly … Read more
Biobased really is a sub-branch of circular, says Daan Bruggink of ORGA architects. The circular economy knows two cycles, technical and biological. The biological cycle of course contains the ‘real’ … Read more
Sustainable materials need to get certified, says Daan Bruggink. The architect is convinced that project developers will switch to more sustainable materials by including them in certification. At present, energy … Read more
Sustainable construction requires a team, says Daan Bruggink. These ‘construction teams’ (project partnering) are not a new concept, but they are still used far too little. You need each other’s … Read more
Daan Bruggink is one of the standard bearers of sustainable architecture in the Netherlands. If anything, he insists on building based on nature: ‘We at ORGA Architects first consider natural … Read more
If we could really succeed in establishing a sustainable production chain of concrete, it would be more effective and cheaper than solar and wind power. An example of the potential … Read more
Synthetic and glass fibres have never completely substituted natural fibres. On the contrary, there is a growing interest for application of natural fibres in composite materials – biobased or not, … Read more
Sorry, this review of the sustainable restaurant ‘Aan Zee’ (By the Sea) in Oostvoorne near Rotterdam is only available in Dutch.
Three years ago, I attended a DPI (Dutch Polymer Institute) meeting, on the question to what extent sectors had embraced the biobased economy. Everyone present made much of the achievements … Read more