Structural aspects

Biochar Helps Lime-Based Building Materials Capture More Carbon While Gaining Strength

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A carefully optimized dose of fine biochar improves both carbon dioxide uptake and compressive strength in natural hydraulic lime, offering a promising low-carbon material for historic building restoration and sustainable construction. Natural hydraulic lime has been used for centuries in masonry and restoration because it is compatible with traditional building materials and can absorb carbon … Read more

Using Natural Stone in Our Modern Environment

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“Our planet is partly made of boiling magma and we’re standing on its dry crust,” says London-based architect and stone evangelist Amin Taha. “It’s available almost everywhere and we’re not going to run out of it any time soon.” Strong, fireproof, beautiful, and low in embodied carbon, stone is an ancient building material, used for … Read more

The Modern Use of Bamboo in the Philippines

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For centuries, Filipinos have built and lived in houses made of bamboo, then with the introduction of steel and lumber, bamboo was regarded as a “poor man’s” building material.  Now, by combining ancestral building wisdom with cutting-edge technologies, engineered bamboo is emerging as structurally superior alternatives to steel, lumber, and concrete. Bamboo is widely available … Read more

The Taiwan Bamboo Expo

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A growing collection of bamboo structures has transformed National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University into one of Taiwan’s most distinctive hubs for bamboo innovation—a place where architecture, engineering, digital fabrication, and sustainability converge. What was once associated primarily with traditional craftsmanship now appears in architectural installations, public spaces, and experimental structures that explore new possibilities … Read more

Using Seaweed as an Ingredient for 3D Printing Walls

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An ingredient that gives ice cream a creamier texture could make natural earthen materials like clay and sand easier to 3D-print into durable structures, according to scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder. In nature, termites construct towering mounds. Wasps build intricate nests, and honeycomb worms create reef-like structures along coastlines. Rather than relying on … Read more

Using Crooked, Forked and Curved Trees in Construction

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Crooked, forked and curved trees are often treated as second-class timber. They are considered less valuable, and not suitable for load bearing walls or support systems in building. If a tree trunk is not straight enough to become a saw log, it is frequently diverted into pulp production or burned for energy. Architect and researcher … Read more