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Definitions and Strategies
For anyone wondering what biomaterials are, James Rixon of the Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) provides a useful definition. They have good breathability, moisture absorption and evaporation properties and:
• Abundant and renewable
• Can be mined with minimal ecological disruption under regenerative land management
• Requires minimal processing (i.e. low embodied carbon)
• Healthy and non-toxic
• Can be sourced responsibly
• Easily reused and recycled or returned to the earth.
Aurore Baulier and Stephanie Crombie, also from ACAN, discuss the many good sources of information available to support the use of biomaterials – details are also available on the ACAN website.
Speaker after speaker outlined strategies for sustainable development. Baker-Brown emphasizes the importance of disassembly design, which requires you to draw and quantify differently and avoid using glue.He also highlighted the current state of urban mining, which he called “the reprocessing of the Anthropocene,” citing experiments The Scrap House project repurposes down quilts as insulation and uses crushed oyster shells as tiles.
Autodesk’s Justin Taylor adds some details to the urban mining concept and reviews what’s needed to build a Building as Material Library (BaMB) with reference to an EU-funded project Construct a chain platform. In addition to dismantling the design, a viable system requires a centralized repository containing materials such as their location, grade, and properties. Responsibility and responsibility for maintaining and managing data must be considered critical to its success.
Architype’s Kirstin Assheton and Christian Dimbleby debunk some myths about whether Passive Houses are suitable for large-scale projects, citing their views sutton harris academy Currie Community High School Project. Tips for success include simplifying construction to improve buildability, testing air tightness on models early on and, if steel framing is used, analyzing every detail.
However, Simon Sturges warns that Passivhaus is not always the answer. In refurbishments, he found that fabric-first renovations had better carbon performance, even over the life of the building.
Autodesk’s Azim Jasat highlights the role of industrialized architecture, with rewards including reduced waste and better tracking of environmental sustainability. Autodesk is developing Manufacturing Informed Design, a system best suited for design and build contracts by general contractors with in-house manufacturing capabilities or a well-connected supply chain. Productization is key, bridging the gap between design and manufacturing through product templates that can be automatically customized for each project. Behind the scenes is a digital platform that connects Autodesk’s architectural design and product design portfolios.
Architype’s Wendy Bishop talks about her famous EThe Entopia Building at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, describes how the goal of achieving 70% biomaterial quality has proven impossible. But volumetrically it performed much better, using a plaster product called Diathonite (a cork/lime mix) as insulation for the walls and SonaSpray (recycled paper) for the hard surfaces to achieve acceptable acoustic effect.
RCKa’s Anthony Staples highlights the human element in all these strategies, explaining that the participatory ethos of his practice is key to good sustainable results, as is its The Nourishment Center building in Shepherd’s Bush.
key message
There are several messages that ring loud and clear.
First, making the right choice is interdisciplinary – expertise in supply chain, product testing, certification, buildability, construction science and engagement is critical.
Second, the application of cutting-edge strategies described here is still far from mainstream—a problem for net zero.
Third, liability lurks behind all these innovations, hindering their adoption.
The loudest one was the question posed by the audience: How do architects effect change when they have no control over decisions like budget and time?
The answer was to cater to the ethical sensibilities of the client. Force them to opt out of green solutions and sell their long-term benefits.
In the meantime, the Royal Institute of British Architects and its collaborators will continue to lobby for changes forced through regulation.
Smart Practice is sponsored by Autodesk
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