Zoe Brown

Introduction to Sustainability
Dr. Du
4/7/15
Sustainable Materials in Construction
Sustainability is a crucial topic being discussed and implemented into our lives.
From government summits to individuals making choices to be sustainable, it is very
much a part of our future. Sustainability is about taking care of our planet so that it can
continue to provide us with our resources and function at a healthy, balanced level for our
future. Several different aspects that make up sustainability include the economy, the
environment, and society. How these elements interact with one another speaks to the
status of our planet. Those who live in underdeveloped countries typically have a lower
source of income, and tend to live in buildings that are not as stable and are typically
constructed from inadequate materials, with no emphasis on sustainability. China and the
US represent more progressive societies utilizing more sustainable materials like steel
and solar panels because of available financial resources. However, the gap between
social classes here in the US represents a large divide between the middle class and upper
class. As we learned in the Bruntland report, those who are within the top 2% of the
income earn 50% of what we all earn collectively. These super wealthy represent some of
the largest corporations in the US, and have an excess amount of power within the
political spectrum. This financial power allows them to buy into different policies that
dont reflect well on the planet or the rest of the population.

Becoming globally sustainable is imperative to our planet. Our water sources,

which are considered a renewable resource, are becoming contaminated by industrial
practices and overuse. The need to implement sustainable practices is quite apparent as
seen this last year with record high temperatures in 2015.
Construction is an industry that is beginning to apply sustainability practices to
their industry. With risks of deforestation and pollution to local environment,
construction until recently has never really been deemed eco-conscious. Consuming a
large amount of natural resources as apart of their practice, they are now looking into
recycling materials,without throwing them away. According to The Impacts of
Construction and The Built Environment half of all non-renewable resources are used
in construction making it one of the least sustainable industries in the world.
Construction requires materials, energy, and money to carry out the process. However the
effects the construction has on biodiversity is much more difficult to assert, according to
Bill Lawsons article in Environmental Impacts of Building Materials. From Mr.
Lawsons article the life cycle of a buildings material is as follows:
mining/extraction/harvesting, manufacture, construction, use, and demolition. As these
steps take place we see an increase in waste-disposal problems.
Clifford Goertemiller of Harvard University wrote that construction materials like
wood, steel, copper, glass, and polymers must be extracted from Earths crust. Mr.
Goeremiller then goes on to discuss on the large amount of energy needed to construct.
Approximately 90% of energy used in construction is harvested for nonrenewable fossil
resources that include coal, natural gas, and oil. These practices release CO2, carbon
monoxide, mercury, sulphur oxide, and nitrogen oxide. Mr. Goertemiller went on to

discuss that over time the maintenance of building require system upgrades from heating
and cooling to more advanced technology like data systems and energy data systems.
Over time these replacements are short on longevity and are not disposed of correctly.
However, the construction industry has implemented ways to be sustainable in the
last several decades. Sustainable construction according to BCA.gov is the adoption of
materials and products in buildings and construction that will require less use of natural
resources and increase the reusability of such materials. Non-structural concrete is being
reused as hardcore in road and pavement instead of using new stones. BCA discusses
that steel is an excellent reusable material, because it can be recycled repeatedly
without any degradation in properties or in quality. Also according to BCA there is
virtually no waste from steel products on the construction site and is widely
reused. Concrete accounts for 7-10% of global CO2 emissions, one of the most sought
out materials in construction.
Wool bricks developed by Spanish and Scottish researchers use wool and a
natural polymer found in seaweed as the clay of the brick. According to researchers the
brick is 37% stronger than other bricks and is more resistant to cold and wet climates.
These wool bricks also dry hard, not needing the energy to be fired like traditional bricks.
Untreated clay was one of the first building materials used, so naturally it seems fitting to
update it in an eco conscious way.
Another sustainable resource being utilized is roof tiles. However, these are not
the traditional style roof tiles, but instead are implementing solar capabilities into the roof
tiles. Traditional roof tiles require being mined from the ground or being set from

concrete or clay. These solar tiles not only serve as an energy source from absorbing the
suns energy, but also provide protection for the buildings.
Paper insulation that is made from recycled papers and cardboard is the new
alternative to chemical foams. These are free of chemicals found in insect repellent and
fire retardant, but instead have re-introduced borax, boric acid, and calcium carbonate
which are all natural substances. These do not have any links to health problems because
they are completely natural. Paper insulation can be used in filling cavity walls and
cracks to allow for a draft free area. Another innovation being implemented into the
sustainability world of construction is triple-glazed windows. A sustainable option for
housing applies the idea of using three layers of glass to stop heat from leaving the
building, and if insulated would provide more insulation. It was found that most doubleglazed windows that the gas argon is injected between each layer to aid insulation, which
ends up being a much more expensive insulator.
According to environmentalist Denis Hayes the design life of a building in Europe
is 250 years, but in the US that is not the same story with most commercial building life
spans being between 20-25 years. Hayes just built a commercial building for his office in
Seattle, Washington known as the Bullitt Center. The Bullitt center is considered the
greenest commercial building in the world and from a global standpoint the construction
model for sustainability. The building with a future considered so bright on its website
has utilized the sun in their automated blinds integrated with operable windows to
minimize glare and maintain interior temperature. Located on top of the building are 575
solar panels that generate as much energy as The Bullitt center uses in a year. It is free of
toxic chemicals and use net zero energy and water. The Bullitt center represents the green

standard with water shedding gathered from rain water to water plants and does not offer
a parking garage, but instead is located near the cities main bus lines and offers a
convenient room to store your bike.
Waste management strategies for the construction industry could be implemented
in a multitude of these. Waste prevention could include using leftover supplies from a
building project, and thrown away materials from a condemned building. Steel is a
sought after resource along with concrete that could be used from previous buildings.
Waste reduction could be dramatically reduced if buildings were built efficiently like the
Europeans-lasting two hundred fifty years. Unfortunately here in the United States you
will find that the average lifespan of a commercial buildings interior is five to ten years,
which is a small fraction of what the livelihood of that building could be. Minimizing the
use of sources could also be a solution, as over 50% of our resources come from nonrenewable resources.
Building engineers have suggested reusing concrete because it uses more
energy to make it when it could be reused in roads. Other materials like steel can be
continually reused because the materials will not become depleted in their quality or
become corroded. Cardboard and paper can be broken down and then used to create
insolation. Also a plethora of materials can be recycled from plastics, doors and metals.
Energy recovery was present in the Bullitt center when used to heat or cool the office
spaces. It typically helps with controlling the humidity and this system is present in over
50% of global office buildings. Disposal is the least favored option because we would
like to see items reused or not created if they will be discarded. However, in construction,
the chemicals must be disposed of correctly because they are hazardous. Chemicals

dumped into local areas have strong negative effects among the environment including
the biodiversity and water supplies. Overall the future of construction looks very
promising. We have witnessed the use of sustainable materials being implemented into
our campus and buildings. With over 90% of construction materials being reused on
campus projects we hope that only the rest can adhere to such a standard.

Works Cited
"Building Features." Bullitt Center Building Features Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.bullittcenter.org/building/building-features/>.
"ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT." Journal of the Royal Society of Arts 123.5224
(1975): 227-33. Web.
Fisher, Steve. "The Costco Connection - April 2016." The Costco Connection - April 2016.
Costco, Apr. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/201604?pg=35#pg35>.
"Five Sustainable Building Materials That Could Transform Construction." This Big City Five
Sustainable Building Materials That Could Transform Construction Comments. N.p., 12
Nov. 2010. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. <http://thisbigcity.net/five-sustainable-buildingmaterials-that-could-transform-construction/>.
Goertemiller, Clifford. "How Does Construction Affect the Environment?" - Quora. N.p., n.d.
Web. 03 Apr. 2016. <https://www.quora.com/How-does-construction-affect-theenvironment>.
Lawson, Bill. "Environmental Impacts of Building Materials." Environmental Impacts of
Building Materials. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/good_wood/env_imp.htm>.
Pilko, Michael. "What Is the Lifespan of a Commercial Building?" N.p., 14 July 2012. Web.
<https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-lifespan-of-a-commercial-building>.
"Sustainable Construction." Sustainable Construction Materials for Buildings (2002): n.
pag. BCA.gov. Web.