Taking green building mainstream: The top ten biggest trends in sustainable construction
Low-impact Construction Materials
What are low-impact buildings? They are buildings which are constructed from natural materials, which are found on-site or nearby with minimal environmental damage. Ammar Kaka, VP at Heriot-Watt University in Dubai, says the use of low-impact construction materials can go a long way towards minimising the damage caused by construction. These materials can also be recycled or repurposed, and are found to occur naturally and are bio-degradable. Materials such as timber, clay, lime, rammed earth, cob, straw, hemp, and stone are some examples of materials that can minimise the ecological impact. As a general guideline, materials that do not need to be manufactured in a factory or transported over large distances will have the lowest environmental impact, he adds.
