Upscaling Natural Materials in Construction: Earthen, Fast-Growing, and Living Materials

Olga Beatrice Carcassi (), Roberta Salierno, Pietro Augusto Falcinelli, Ingrid Maria Paoletti and Lola Ben-Alon
Additional contact information
Olga Beatrice Carcassi: Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
Roberta Salierno: Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Pietro Augusto Falcinelli: Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Ingrid Maria Paoletti: Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering—ABC Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Lola Ben-Alon: Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-20

Abstract: Despite the numerous advantages of using natural materials, such as fast-growing, living, and earthen materials, their widespread application in the construction industry remains limited. This research presents a perception survey, which investigates stakeholders’ perceptions regarding the market, regulatory barriers, and educational barriers, exploring experiences, motivations, and attitudes toward the adoption of natural materials in construction projects. The results capture variations in current practices and identify patterns for future directions, analyzed in a comparative manner to assess two geographical regions: Europe and North America. The results show that contractor availability, a lack of professional knowledge (mostly in Europe), and cost-to-value perceptions (mostly in the USA) are key barriers to adopting natural materials. The lack of awareness among construction professionals regarding technical aspects highlights the need for targeted training, while the lack of regulatory distinction between living and earth-based materials underscores the need for harmonized policies. By elucidating stakeholders’ perspectives and identifying key challenges, this research aims to inform policymaking, industry practices, and research initiatives aimed at promoting the use of a wider lexicon of construction materials. Ultimately, this study hopes to facilitate the development of strategies to overcome scalability challenges and accelerate the transition toward their implementation in mainstream projects.

Keywords: earthen material; living material; fast-growing material; stakeholders; survey perception (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/18/7926/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/18/7926/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:18:p:7926-:d:1475660

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().