Construction Trends That Are Unfolding Right Now

5 Sustainable Construction Trends That Are Unfolding Right Now

More and more industries are realizing the scope of their impact on the world around us, and they are actively finding new ways to continue their work in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way.

Global organizations are even establishing actionable goals for reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, such is the case with The United Nations Paris Agreement. The construction industry has been particularly affected because it does have a big impact on atmospheric and surface-level production. Luckily, there are some strategies to transform this huge industry into something far more sustainable and eco-friendly. Here are five major sustainable construction trends that are already under way.

Smart cities              

One of the key players in making our daily lives more sustainable is definitely the Internet of Things (IoT) technology which uses sophisticated sensors which can help track data on various things such as resources and even movement. This powerful tool has given rise to a fascinating modern concept of building smart cities, and the name of the game is enhancing efficiency in our day-to-day lives.

Big cities are full of potential for inefficiency because there are many factors that arise in such hectic environments. One of the key solutions to this is minimizing traffic which can easily be done through the successful integration of IoT into driverless and electric vehicles so that they can choose the optimal routes and avoid traffic jams. Using this amazing technology, it is also possible to reduce energy costs from street lighting by using motion sensors to power lighting systems only when truly necessary.

Waste management systems

Australia is making big leaps in terms of creating good waste management solutions with the rate of this market increasing annually by 9%. This shows that there is substantial support for integrating extremely valuable waste management options such as the waste chute from Queensland, which is a great all-in-one integrative tool for recycling and it allows for an intuitive and user-friendly recycling experience. This is especially useful in big corporate environments, so implementing such systems into newly built corporate buildings would go a long way towards a greener future.

Modular building

The pandemic days have created a large demand for e-commerce which has in turn driven the rise of building more warehouses and storage spaces.

In such hectic and unpredictable scenarios, it is vitally important to have the ability to create warehouses anywhere in the world, with very little building costs. That is why modular construction has soared in popularity, as it produces minimal emissions with efficiency-enhancing designs. This is done by creating modular parts off-site to reduce waste. These parts can then be easily transported.

This construction method is much cheaper because you can rely on the use of professional equipment in one area and then be able to deploy the newly built piece of structure anywhere in the world. In addition, this also increases the recyclability of materials and creates zero waste from errors in production.

More investors and business owners are seeking modular development as it offers more sustainability, all while being extremely reliable and cost-effective, focusing on the eco-conscious buyer market.

Better material choice

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification is one of the most prominent certification programs regarding the green building. Its goal is to promote and enhance green building policies which attempt to make the construction work safer and the construction results more sustainable for everyone. This mostly comes down to using the core building materials which are environmentally friendly and create minimal pollution: this includes; wood, bamboo, natural fiber, cellulose, composites, non-VOC paints, fiber cement, etc. In the near future, we can expect to see the use of living materials as well.

This includes materials that are robust enough to be used for building that is made out of bacteria and fungi. For instance, self-repairing concrete is made using bacteria which has the power to bind the nearby materials and reinforce its structure in case of any deformities. This should increase the lifespan of everyday infrastructure and objects such as roads and sidewalks. In addition, one should also take a look at efficient construction equipment like air tools to bring your construction project to the next level.

Harnessing the power of water

One of the leading sources of sustainable energy is definitely hydropower. It includes 71% of the world’s total renewable energy, which is one-fifth of the total global electricity. It is estimated that it will grow even more in the near future. This source of energy offers many amazing benefits for the construction industry such as cost-efficiency, flood control, irrigation support, and clean drinking water.

In addition, hydroelectric power is highly flexible as it can scale from zero to a hundred really quickly. This is possible with amazing backup power capabilities in case of outages or power disruptions.

The modern construction industry is currently going through a very challenging, but very promising change. It involves the adoption of more sustainable trends which are seen in the new certification protocols and policies. The goal is simple; to make the future of housing and infrastructure a far more environmentally-friendly process.

Luckily, we are already seeing many amazing trends such as: building smart cities using the IoT technology, minimizing waste by integrating genius ways to make waste management much easier, creating modular building structures which offer a heap of flexibility, and using high-quality materials which involve the adoption of more sustainable trends which are seen in the new certification protocols and policies.

The goal is simple; to make the future of housing and infrastructure a far more environmentally-friendly process. Luckily, we are already seeing many amazing trends such as: building smart cities using IoT technology, minimizing waste by integrating genius ways to make waste management much easier, being far more eco-friendly as well as harnessing the immense power of water in order to optimize construction.

In the US, the FHA Construction Loan allows future homeowners to include environmentally friendly options and it can all be financed with just 3.5% down.