5 Ways Architectural Design Is Going Green
As more people around the globe are becoming aware of climate change, building new homes becomes more sustainable. Owners are now preoccupied with going green and saving our planet, architects are brainstorming new ways of redefining what design means, while the government is constantly looking for new ways to reduce carbon footprint and support private business efforts. Before digging into our main topic and talking about green architectural designs, let’s see how this new trend can improve our lives and overall health.
How Can Green Buildings Improve Our Lives?
The newest green trends surpass the water and energy efficiency marks and can help us live healthier in many ways.
The air that we breathe can be purified. Today, a high carbon dioxide concentration can leave people feeling tired, grumpy, and unable to breathe properly. By redesigning our homes, we could improve air quality and temperature, which can lead to lower humidity and better overall health.
Green homes allow more light in. This can help us focus better and feel more positive. Plus, it’s been shown that more light can increase people’s happiness and help them get better sleep.
Another reason for redesigning your home and switching to green housing is to encourage mobility. A greenhouse can have easy access to cycling and running routes or public transportation.
Plants help clean the air. Green homes can incorporate natural elements such as plants, trees, etc. These systems can help clean the air and purify it. Green design can be easily applied in many ways inside and outside your home.
Infrastructure built around green homes can help mitigate natural disasters and enhance existing structures. This can keep us safer, diminish fear, and increase our life expectancy by a significant percentage.
Five of the Most Important Green Architectural Designs
When it comes to materials, green architecture is truly outstanding. The newest trends show real human innovation and bring about new trends to explore.
1. Bamboo
Using bamboo is the new green buidling strategy that works! Since this plant is one of the fastest-growing ones on the planet, using it to build sustainable homes can be a great way to replace wood. On top of being a fast-grower, bamboo is also durable and strong, which is exactly what a house needs. According to Elemental Green, natural bamboo rates 1380 on the toughness scale, which is said to exceed steel even.
Bamboo is easy to install and is similar to wood in many ways. This is why building bamboo homes would not be that different than building wood homes. Plus, this natural material is easy to collect and cut and perfectly safe to transport across continents. Storing bamboo is not hard either. Plus, this plant is affordable and can absorb more carbon dioxide than trees.
2. Recyclable materials
Since our environmental situation is urgent, we need to do what we can to help our planet survive. Building homes out of recyclable materials can be a great green alternative. Today, people around the globe are joining this movement. In Nigeria, they’re building fences out of plastic bottles. In Israel, families are building shelters out of reused soup cans, while in California, homes are made out of shipping containers. Chile is joining the movement by using eco-friendly material for home insulation, while Pakistan uses mortar straw and brick to build house foundations.
3. Timber
Another green alternative to non-sustainable home building material is timber, which is easy to import and renew. The highest amounts of timber exist in Australia today. Compared to other materials, the production of wood requires less energy, which can reduce waste and help save our planet. Wood can actually store CO2 from the atmosphere and be used in other important and positive ways when building a house.
Some quick advice. Builders must make sure that they’re using PEFC certified timber, while homeowners need to ensure that they’re purchasing eco-friendly materials. Designers, on the other hand, should check with the Green Star rating.
4. Smart bricks
Your new house project could be improved by using smart bricks that store more energy and consume less power. These recycled bricks are converted into some type of supercapacitor, being made out of nanofibers that generate electricity.
5. Self-healing concrete
While this is a new concept and further research must be conducted, self-healing concrete could be the invention of the future. It could absorb a high level of PH by using living organisms. Basically, any dormant bacteria present in the home could disappear as soon as it touches the moisture in the air, which can help cement heal itself. Amazing, right?
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