Sustainability in science engineering, Timisoara 2009

What Characteristics Define

Ecological Building Materials
Earth as Building Material

Prof.dr.arh. Smaranda Maria Bica

Ecological impact of building activities

• The building sector is, from the ecological

point of view, one of the most damaging for
the environment.
• A great variety of new materials and new
ideas are directed to diminish this negative
effect.
Characteristics of Ecological Buildings
• High insulation qualities are necessary, in
order to avoid excessive energy consumption;
natural materials rarely respond to these
requirements without exagerating their
thickness
• Eventually the new materials and techniques
should have beneficial effects on the
environment
• Vegetation in buildings is indicated etc.
 Characteristics of ecological building
materials

• They should be healthy for the users; natural materials are

indicated
• They should need little energy for transportation, thus
avoiding collateral pollution; local materials are indicated
• They should consume little energy for fabrication; again,
natural materials should be considered
• They should be recyclable
• They should be reusable at least once
• They should reuse residues; the reuse of non ecological
materials can be considered an ecological undertaking.
 What are healthy materials
• Without pollutants and toxic components
• Not causing unpleasant noises
• Secure as radioactivity
• Secure as electromagnetism etc.
Thus:
• Some materials release formaldehyde, when incorporating solvents
• Timber products are treated with chemicals, like insecticide
• Composite materials incorporate resins
• Some paints use toxic metals such as cadmium and lead etc.

It is necessary to consider the full life cycle of any material,

like asbestos cement, not directly damaging in buildings,
but becoming so at works of refurbishment or
demolishment.
 Environmental impact of
materials
When assesing the environmental impact,
several problems should be considered:
– Energy use
– Climate change and global warming effect
– Generation of acid rain
– Release of toxins etc.
– Resources consumption
One has to make choices!!!
 Embodied energy in building materials

• Materials with very high energy requirements:

aluminum, plastics, copper and stainless steel (100 -
250 GJ/tone)
• Materials with high energy requirements: steel, lead,
zinc, glass, cement (10 – 60 GJ/tone)
• Materials with medium energy are lime, clay bricks
and tiles, gypsum, timber (1 – 3.5 GJ/tone)
• Materials with low energy requirements: sand,
aggregate, volcanic ash, soil (less than 0.5 GJ/tone).

Energy requirments range from 0.5 to 250 GJ/t (1/500)

 Energy costs

Taking as unit energy price for timber buildings

• Brick buildings require 3 times more energy
• Reinforced concrete buildings require 12
times more energy
• Steel buildings require 30 times more energy.
Refurbishment and embodied energy

A difficult decision, with many choises

• Refurbishment is a recycling of buildings but
• In long term, a new building can be significantly
more efficient than the older one over its life
span, and will require less energy for its
maintenance but
• Demolition produces rubble that is damaging for
the environment but
• Refurbishment seems to never end, every
entreprise leading to another and another.....
 Embodied energy in processing
and transportation
• Every process needs energy. The materials
should be as close as possible to natural state
• Distance and weight are elements that
encrease embodied energy
• Processes that make sence financially are not
necessarily less energy consuming and can be
environmentlly damaging.
 Time and embodied energy
• The cradle-to-grave approach, called life cycle analysis
is used to assess the total impact of a building along its
life span. The longer a building will exist, the lower the
impact of the energy consumption and pollution being
embodied in building materials and in construction
activities will be. This embodied energy will be divided
to the lifespan.
• The International Standard Organization includes a
methodology for life cycle analysis in ISO 14000
(although this standard is not specifically related to
buildings, but to environmental policies).
• New policies consider the cradle-to-cradle approach
Earth - rediscovered building material
Earth is one of the oldest building material man
has ever used:
• Earth is a natural material
• Even if presenting different qualities, earth can
be found everywhere. In consequence it is a local
material everywhere
• Earth is healthy
• Earth needs little energy for production
• Earth is not polluting.
 Earth sheltered buildings

Earth sheltering is the practice of using

earth against building walls and roof for
external thermal mass, to reduce heat
loss and to easily maintain a steady
indoor air temperature.
 Heating in earth sheltered buildings
Heating is the primary energy consumer in
buildings. In earth sheltered buildings:
• Infiltration is minimized, wind being separated
from the structure by the covering. Thus outside
air cannot force itself into the building.
• Conduction is reduced, the earth covering having
a certain level of insulation capacity
• Passive solar houses need a high thermal inertia
by important building material mass. This is
provided by the earth sheltering, which reduces
temperature fluctuation.
 Other advantages of earth sheltered
buildings

• Noise is muffled
• Most of the vibrations are not transmitted
• It is fire resistant, and so are most of the materials
used for the building structure: concrete, stone or
masonry
• Storms do not affect such buildings
• The price of earth sheltered buildings is similar to
conventional ones, because they require minimum
finishing and are economical in maintenance.
Types of earth sheltered buildings

• Earth piled up against exterior walls, the roof being

earth covered or not. The construction being above
ground, moisture problems are rare and are easier to
solve.
• In hill constructions are set into a natural or artificial
slope. It is an usual practice in areas with varied reliefs.
The ideal position is when the slope faces south.
• Underground, fully recessed constructions are built in
excavated ground. For light and ventilation an atrium
or inner courtyard are necessary.
Earth sheltered buildings
Potential problems in earth sheltered
buildings
• Moisture, due to water seepage, when water
proofing is penetrated
• Indoor air quality is sometimes poor and internal
condensation can appear, needing an adequate
ventilation or geothermal heat pump
• The building materials for earth sheltered
construction are non biodegradable (plastics for
waterproofing and concrete for the structure)
• The excavation of the site is time and labor
consuming
Traditional earth sheltered
buildings (Iceland)
Traditional earth sheltered
buildings (Iceland)
Traditional earth sheltered
buildings (Azarbaijan)
Traditional earth sheltered
buildings (Italy)
Earth sheltered buildings
Earth sheltered buildings
Earth sheltered buildings
Earth sheltered buildings
 Earth as building cover:
Green roofs
A green roof is a roof that is partially or
completely covered with soil and
vegetation.
Green roofs are also called vegetated roofs,
living roofs and eco-roofs.
Rooftop ponds are a form of green roofs
which are used to treat grey water.
Local and/or national administrations
encourage the introduction of green roofs.
 Benefits of green roofs
• Grow fruits, vegetable and flowers
• Reduce heating in winter by adding mass and thermal resistance
• Reduced value for cooling in summer by as much as 26% due to
evaporation
• Increased roof life span
• Retains storm water and reduces water run off
• Filters pollutants from the air and reduces carbon dioxide emisions
• Filters pollutants from the rain water
• Increases sound insulation (soil for low frequencies and plants for
high frequencies)
• Increase wildlife habitat for birds and insects
• Helps reducing air temperature in densely build areas by as much
as 7 degrees Celsius (urban heat island effect), minimizing the heat
accumulation and increasing evaporation.
 Types of green roofs
• Intensive green roofs planting require an important
depth of soil, irrigation and feeding to grow large
plants. These roofs are generally accessible to the
public like any other urban green areas.
• Extensive green roofs are designed to be self
sustaining and require minimum maintenance (once a
year weeding and fertilizing for instance). They are
only accessible for maintenance. They can be planted
on very thin layer of soil or of varied materials.
Green roofs can be pitched or flat. Pitched green roofs
are part of the traditional Scandinavian building
techniques.
Urban agriculture on green roofs
Thechnical University Singapore
Thechnical University Singapore
Intensive green roofs
Intensive green roofs
Extensive green roofs
Extensive green roofs
 Green walls and living walls
A green wall is a wall, free standing or part of a
building, partially or completely covered with
vegetation, or soil and vegetation. They are also
called vertical gardens.

Living walls are particularly adequate in dry

climates, because the water circulation on a
vertical wall is less likely to evaporate.

Living walls can become works of environmental art

Green walls with ivy
 Living walls
• Passive living walls have no means to move the air
into the root system where pollutants can be
degraded. Their benefits are equivalent to those
brought by vegetation in any planted area and
climbing plants.
• Active living walls represent a new concept, by which
the wall is integrated into the building’s air circulation
system. By bio filtration and phyto-remediation, the
quality of the air is improved. The active living wall
harnesses nature’s cleansing power by drawing air
through the root system, where beneficial microbes
degrade the pollutants and bring in interiors fresh air.
• Living walls are also means for water reuse
Living walls
Living walls
Living walls
Defence,
Paris
living walls system
Living wall
system
 Urban
agriculture
on living wall
living walls system
living walls system
living walls system
 Earth bags
Earth bag construction is an inexpensive method
to create structures which are both strong and
can be quickly built. It evolved from historic
military bunker construction techniques and
building methods used for temporary flood-
control dikes.
The technique requires very basic construction
materials: sturdy sacks, filled with inorganic
material usually available on site.
 Earth bags
Earth bags walls are almost always curved to
provide improved lateral stability, forming round
rooms and domed ceilings like an igloo. To
improve rigidity between each row of bags
barbed wire is often placed between the courses.
The structure is typically finished with plaster,
stucco or adobe both to shed water and to
prevent any degradation from solar radiation.
This construction technique can be used for
emergency shelters, temporary or permanent
housing or barns and most of the small-to-
medium-sized structures.
Earth bags
Earth bags
 Earth and recycled material
Earth and recycled materials form an ecological,
affordable and inexpensive combination, easy
to realize all over the globe.
An example is the so called Earthship initiative,
dating back to 1970 and founded by the
architect Mike Reynolds. His vision for a
sustainable home, using indigenous and
recycled materials, took the form of a U-
shaped earth filled reused tire home.
Earth and recycled material
Earth and recycled material
Earth and recycled material
 Conclusions

New ideas for ecological materials are emerging

at a high rate.
The topic of this paper was focused on one
single traditional, local, available, inexpen-
sive and healthy material. But this very old
material can be used in new, innovative
forms.