Context

Next to water, concrete is the most consumed substance on our planet.

Only coal, oil and gas are a greater source of greenhouse gases. The construction industry consumes 10 billion tons of concrete each year. This will increase to 60 billion tons in 2050.

The construction sector represents more than 36% of the world’s final energy use. Up to 86% of this energy is supplied by fossil fuels. The construction industry is responsible for 40% of global resource consumption and 40% of human-caused CO2 equivalent emissions, thus making it one of the biggest contributors to climate change.

Construction material represents around 35% of the waste generated each year worldwide. In some countries, this can reach 50% of the domestic waste generated each year.

Added to this, the world’s population will increase by over 2.1 billion people by the year 2050, more than doubling the global housing stock demand. That’s the equivalent of building one New York City every month for the next 30 years.

We urgently need to change the materials we use to build structures and the way we design and build them.

At nonCrete we research and develop sustainable, innovative, affordable, elegant, construction systems which dramatically lower embodied emissions, reduce construction waste and resource consumption, create low-tech, gender-neutral work opportunities and restore natural ecosystems in the process.

We achieve this by researching, developing and implementing the use of low-carbon building materials, bespoke material mix-designs and appropriate design practices through international collaborations and building projects within the private, academic and government sectors.

By bringing together like-minded people and organisations around the world, we aim to create and promote interdisciplinary partnerships and collaborations that further these objectives within the engineering, architectural, sustainable design and construction sectors.

Share this:

Facebook Twitter