Sustainable building materials
Many countries face major problems related to extended
urbanization, which is very often accompanied by natural resources
and environmental depletion. This growth is creating exceptional
demands for additional housing and infrastructures, which will
certainly require more land to build-on and further building
materials production. Considering that raw materials and other
natural resources are limited, it is imperative that innovative
technologies are designed and implemented to introduce sustainable
production cycles of building materials and semi-finished products,
in order to make low-cost housing easily accessible.
The ICS High Technology and New Materials Area has promoted
low-cost housing through affordable building materials involving
local SMEs not only in the utilization of the materials produced,
but also in the production of parts/components of plants, of the
plants themselves, and in the training of personnel and local
technicians.
However, it is evident that the problem of low-cost construction in
developing countries is not limited to training and transferring
technology for the production of building materials using local
resources, but involves other complementary sectors. These sectors
are metrology and testing, as well as the adaptation of available
technology to local conditions with special attention to the
environment and energy consumption.
Main objectives pursued
- To assist developing countries in the valorisation of local resources and wastes to produce building materials
- To increase human resource capacities and capabilities
- To strengthen the decision making process at a strategy and regulatory level for sustainable construction