A-Z of Self Build Guides Choosing Building Materials

Date Published:

02/06/2008

And then there's concrete. Still a firm favourite when it comes to building materials, it can do beautiful things and at the same time it’s not the most intelligent of materials to produce. Everyone knows now cement is a pollutant - a ton of cement produces about a ton of carbon dioxide. We won't stop using this ancient, elastic material because it is durable and can create wonderful shapes, so the future lies in eco concrete blocks and Aircrete, made using minimal amounts of cement.

The potential of a new material for an architect is like opening a new door into a different world because through using these materials you can achieve things that you've only ever dreamt of. And so it's absolutely critical that we know where we can take materials to push realms of architecture.

Deborah Saunt has pioneered a project featuring seven thousand plants around the outside of a brand new building. The structure includes a new cladding system with irrigation, and a kind of growing medium into which you plant these plants and then the building quite literally grows and changes with the seasons.

Within ten years we're going to see buildings which are hybrids. They'll use a minimum amount of steel, lots of ecological concrete, and timber in a great deal of ways for insulation, for cladding and for structure. Plus there is a whole host of interesting recycling materials coming onto the market - one example is an insulation product made out of foamed glass recycled from car windscreens.

With a host of new materials available, coupled with the reinvigoration and reapplication of more traditional materials, you can rest assured that self-build projects will continue to push the boundaries of architectural diversity.