About this Research Topic
R. Buckminster Fuller's famous question, "How much does your building weigh?" has evolved in significance over the past century, now encompassing broader concerns about material sustainability, resilience, and human health in architecture. The United Nations Environment Program's Global ABC warns that nearly 50% of the carbon footprint for future projects will result from construction's embodied carbon. The Living Building Challenge's Red List highlights the presence of numerous unregulated toxic chemicals in our buildings, posing risks to our health and environment.
Despite the enormity of these challenges, the architecture industry presents an opportunity for transformative change. Buildings are responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions, and they make up almost 50% of the world's material economy. The AIA's Architecture & Design Materials Pledge advocates for greater material transparency and increased accountability concerning human health, ecosystems, climate, social equity, and circularity, offering a path towards a more sustainable and responsible material economy.
The research topic at hand sets out to explore several pivotal questions that resonate deeply with the contemporary discourse on sustainable architecture and construction practices.
Firstly, it delves into the transformative potential of calls for greater transparency within the materials market. It seeks to determine whether these calls are driving a shift from an extractive and exploitative market model to one that is cyclical and equitable.
Secondly, the research seeks to investigate how this expanded concept of material "weight" influences the design process.
Lastly, the research aims to identify the forms of research required to address the most critical barriers in the design and delivery process. Architects face challenges when seeking materials and assemblies that nurture ecosystems and strengthen communities. Understanding these barriers and developing effective research methodologies can pave the way for more sustainable, socially responsible, and environmentally friendly architectural practices. This research topic holds the potential to drive positive change in the architecture and construction industry, aligning it more closely with the principles of sustainability, equity, and resilience.
The research topics may include but are not limited to:
• Regenerative materials, assemblies, and processes
• Indigenous knowledge, and traditional and vernacular building materials and assemblies
• Materials modelling and its impacts on project design and delivery
• The potential for adaptive reuse and salvaged materials to extend new pathways for circularity and local economic development
• Collaborations with product manufacturers featuring innovative approaches to carbon, health, social equity and/or circularity
• Barriers and opportunities to actively adapting the market for healthy and sustainable materials
• Human impact research into material health
• Material equity and community impacts
• Responsible building deconstruction and material “composting”
• Vulnerability reduction: Assessing resilience materials of post-disaster
• Resilience material: learning from coping strategies for climate variability
• Construction materials choices for making climate-resilient and clean construction.
Despite the enormity of these challenges, the architecture industry presents an opportunity for transformative change. Buildings are responsible for 40% of global carbon emissions, and they make up almost 50% of the world's material economy. The AIA's Architecture & Design Materials Pledge advocates for greater material transparency and increased accountability concerning human health, ecosystems, climate, social equity, and circularity, offering a path towards a more sustainable and responsible material economy.
The research topic at hand sets out to explore several pivotal questions that resonate deeply with the contemporary discourse on sustainable architecture and construction practices.
Firstly, it delves into the transformative potential of calls for greater transparency within the materials market. It seeks to determine whether these calls are driving a shift from an extractive and exploitative market model to one that is cyclical and equitable.
Secondly, the research seeks to investigate how this expanded concept of material "weight" influences the design process.
Lastly, the research aims to identify the forms of research required to address the most critical barriers in the design and delivery process. Architects face challenges when seeking materials and assemblies that nurture ecosystems and strengthen communities. Understanding these barriers and developing effective research methodologies can pave the way for more sustainable, socially responsible, and environmentally friendly architectural practices. This research topic holds the potential to drive positive change in the architecture and construction industry, aligning it more closely with the principles of sustainability, equity, and resilience.
The research topics may include but are not limited to:
• Regenerative materials, assemblies, and processes
• Indigenous knowledge, and traditional and vernacular building materials and assemblies
• Materials modelling and its impacts on project design and delivery
• The potential for adaptive reuse and salvaged materials to extend new pathways for circularity and local economic development
• Collaborations with product manufacturers featuring innovative approaches to carbon, health, social equity and/or circularity
• Barriers and opportunities to actively adapting the market for healthy and sustainable materials
• Human impact research into material health
• Material equity and community impacts
• Responsible building deconstruction and material “composting”
• Vulnerability reduction: Assessing resilience materials of post-disaster
• Resilience material: learning from coping strategies for climate variability
• Construction materials choices for making climate-resilient and clean construction.
Keywords: regenerative materials, adaptive reuse and salvaged materials, healthy and sustainable materials, resilience materials, climate resilient and clean construction, Cicularity
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
