Building Materials of the Future

The construction industry is one that is constantly evolving, and always finding innovative new ways to streamline current processes and improve functionality. One of the best ways to do this is to identify new materials that can improve efficiency, and in many cases do less damage to the environment. We’re going to take a look at some of the most promising new materials that could soon find common use throughout the construction industry:

Self-healing Concrete

It’s almost an accepted fact that concrete is susceptible to damage and cracks, and that over time expansion will result in damage to the foundation. However, recent advances have meant that it is now possible for concrete to counteract this natural flaw, with natural healing agents able to repair cracks as they appear. There are two main types of self-healing concrete, autogenous and autonomous self-healing. Autogenous self-healing requires a constant hydration reaction to heal any damage, meaning their development and application is often limited, with autonomous self-healing being the easier method to put into practice. The autonomous method involves incorporating healing agents into normal concrete, which normally are comprised of chemical repair agents or bacteria containing healing agents, which repair any damage of fractures.

Hemp Building Materials

Hemp building blocks, often referred to as “Hempcrete” are an innovative and eco-conscious material that replace traditional cement building materials with a combination of hemp fibres, lime, and water. The resulting material is lightweight, durable and insulating, along with a number of bonuses when it comes to sustainability and green building. With the increased focus on eco-friendly construction, it’s no surprise that exciting new technologies such as these are quickly gathering steam and garnering mainstream attention.

There are a number of positive attributes when it comes to hempcrete as a building material, not just isolated to it’s benefits for the planet. The material is also low density, making it perfect for seismically sensitive areas, offering resistance to cracks and fractures. Hempcrete is also carbon-absorbing, actively reducing the carbon footprint of any building it is used to construct.

Of course, hempcrete comes with its own downsides and disadvantages, like any building material. Hempcrete blocks are more expensive than traditional concrete, in part due to its more complicated production process. The lightweight nature of the material is also a double-edged sword, although it makes the material easy to transport and handle, it is also not suitable for bearing heavy loads or building foundations.

Smart Windows

Although the prospect of smart housing is becoming increasingly popular, there is also another smart technology that could rapidly be approaching commonality- smart windows. Smart windows can be created using a number of technologies, which aim to provide reactive windows that can adjust opacity in accordance with their conditions.

Although current smart window technology can filter unwanted sunlight radiation, help with managing temperatures and save energy, there still are significant teething issues with the technology. Many smart window solutions have the downside of filtering out visible light as well as the unwanted heat and radiation, an understandable barrier to adoption. The process to create smart windows also often uses costly and time-consuming processes, meaning that reliable and affordable production could still be some time away.

Modular Bamboo Structures

Another new and exciting building material, bamboo has seen an increase in usage around the world. With it’s fast-growing properties, bamboo is easily accessible and available in abundance, although not globally. This has made its application perfect for lightweight modular usage, which can see structures sprout up almost as fast as the humble plant they are made of (bamboo can grow up to nearly three feet per day).

Similar to hempcrete, bamboo as a building material has a number of sustainable bonuses, as well as benefitting from low-density and lightweight nature, making it earthquake resistant. Bamboo’s easy to use nature and reusable properties have made it a great option for response during natural disasters, as bamboo shelters can be used to provide quick and easy respite for those in need of safety. Bamboo also poses no danger to the health of occupants, although efforts must be made to make them immune to insect or fungus attacks, which is one of the significant drawbacks to the material.

Carbon Fibre

When it comes to building materials of the future, Carbon Fibre certainly seems to be one of the most promising and widely suitable. The material is already beginning to see widespread acceptance due to it’s high strength and durability, and has a range of factors that make it suitable either primary building usage or reinforcement of other elements.

Carbon Fibre has a number of advantages over traditional building materials that make it an attractive, forward-thinking alternative. The material is extremely robust, boasting a longer lifespan than steel, as well as being immune to corrosion, making it perfect for use in bridge construction and reinforcement. In terms of drawbacks, carbon fibre is on the more expensive side of these new resources, and the cost differential between carbon fibre and traditional alternatives is the key barrier preventing it from becoming the first choice for many of its uses. There is also the issue of it not being as biodegradable as some of it’s counterparts, although there are many different forms of carbon fibre, with some being more eco-friendly than others.