Commercial construction continues to evolve with the use of new materials and the embracing of technology. With the advent of ‘smart cities’ creating new innovative commercial spaces, construction is seeing accelerated growth including the use of ‘new age’ materials that enhance building efficiency and combat material shortages. The material trends for 2022 find ways to reduce our carbon footprint, this brings an increased desire to create sustainable construction materials that are eco-friendly and ensure both the short and long-term safety and financial benefits of projects and its environment.
Self-Healing Concrete
Self-healing (mending) concrete contains saturated bacteria or fungi that bind surrounding materials into a new structural material that can grow in the pores of the concrete, adding to its impermeability. It can also grow into cracks and fissures, repairing them all on its own, improving the durability and lifespan of the concrete. This material is also designed to reduce the amount of new concrete required and decrease the maintenance cost for existing structures.
Self-healing concrete works when specific forms of bacteria are added into the concrete in small capsules. The capsules also contain a food source for the bacteria – calcium lactate. Once contact with water occurs from a crack in the concrete, the capsules dissolve and the bacteria feeds on the lactate, multiplying, and producing limestone or calcite. This fills in any cracks and stops any substances entering the concrete. This means that once the crack is sealed and water can no longer seep into the concrete, the bacteria becomes dormant again only reactivated upon contact with water. The bacteria are able to survive up to 200 years without any oxygen or water so this process can continue for the lifetime of the concrete.
Smart City, Smart Living
Smart cities see both the public and private sector work to create a data driven environment with the use of modern technology. While the term ‘smart city’ can be defined in several ways, at its essence it’s an older term that describes a city that uses technology to provide services and solve city problems. In ancient Roman cities this could refer to elements that make life easier such as aqueducts and water drainage systems for example. In the modern world this technology may be used to do things like improve transportation and accessibility, improve social services and economic equality, promote sustainability, reduce waste, and improve social inclusion. A smart city makes use of information and communication technologies to address urban challenges, improve operational efficiency and create sustainable infrastructure. A key with infrastructure is tools that are highly functional and progressive, turntables for loading docks and buildings are a part of that and we have seen numerous cities employ the use of turntables giving highly functional and efficient results, making life easier through the use of resources and progressive technologies.Material World
The innovative material trends for 2022 are now beginning to shape the future of construction, with advancements in creating efficient, durable, economical and sustainable materials now becoming more widely available. While traditional materials such as brick, concrete and timber will always be essential to property development, there are new materials that have stronger, longer lasting and better properties. Here are some of the new materials being adapted by the building and construction industry. Cross Laminated Timber (CLT): Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) material consists of planks of sawn, glued, and layered wood, where each layer is oriented perpendicular to the previous. By joining layers of wood at perpendicular angles, structural rigidity for the panel is obtained in both directions, similar to plywood but with thicker components. This means the panel has great tensile and compressive strength. CLT is a great choice for strong commercial buildings with excellent acoustic, high fire resistance, seismic and thermal performance. With easy application, workers can quickly and easily install flexible CLT with little to no onsite waste because manufacturers cut the CLT to size, including door and window openings. Furthermore, lightweight CLTs require smaller cranes than other heavier materials. Carbon Concrete Carbon concrete is a composite of concrete and carbon fibers, meaning it’s stronger, lighter and more durable than conventional concrete. While standard concrete produces significant quantities of carbon dioxide, C02 emissions could be significantly reduced by using carbon concrete, which is essentially the idea that concrete could be altered during its curing process, which has the potential to drive concrete’s carbon dioxide emissions towards or below zero. The building material can be produced from any substance that contains carbon. Compared to reinforced concrete, carbon concrete performs better in terms of load-bearing capacity and weight. In addition, carbon does not rust, meaning a concrete covering, as with reinforced concrete, is not necessary. Hempcrete Created from a natural mix of hemp, lime and water, it is then pushed into timber frames to build an insulating wall. When the hemp fibre and mineral binder (lime) are blended together with water, this results in a chemical reaction between the lime binder and the water, with the binder setting and gluing the hard particles together. When this is set, and additional water has dried out of the mixture, the final material is hempcrete. It has several advantages including fire resistance, insulation and termites are not an issue as with traditional timber. It also weighs significantly less than regular concrete, making it easier to transport and can be grown in a range of climates and soils. Unlike other composite materials such as concrete, mortar, and plaster, the binder portion is not intended to fill all the voids between the hemp particles but only to coat the particles and cause them to adhere to one another where they touch. A hempcrete mix typically has a high percentage of void space in the final mixture. As we aim to reduce emissions, hempcrete makes ecological, financial and environmental sense as it is renewable, has a low impact on the environment, is energy efficient and compares favourably with conventional insulation materials.
