home re-imagined
As interior designers, we come across all sorts of innovation within our industry. Building and finishing materials have improved in safety, efficiency and sustainability. Here are some of the materials that have continually come across our radar.
Recycled Tires
The use of tires as a tool for construction is the next step in the evolution of the wheel. Tires have long been a menace to dispose of as they are cumbersome, not biodegradable and literally everywhere! Think about it. Most large objects that travel across land require wheels. They are on every land mass of this planet. 🤯
In America alone, there are 300 million tires disposed of each year. Out of that number, 20% end up stockpiled or in landfills. Using tires as a building material allows for the disposal of 60 million tires, reducing the environmental and financial impact of building a home.
In 1970, architect Michael Reynolds began using tires for Earthships. These homes are made entirely from recycled and naturally occurring materials. Old tires are filled with compact soil to form what is referred to as ‘rammed-earth bricks’. Exterior walls are created with cement and stucco wrapped around the tire formation [if you don’t prefer the tire’s aesthetic]. Utilizing what would have eventually ended up as trash is a positive step for waste management. It’s also just an extremely solid building material that is accessible for most and easily created. A win-win-win!
Recycled Plastic Bricks
Kenyan Entrepreneur, Nzambi Matee, founded a company called Gjenge Makers LTD. They are responsible for creating bricks made from recycled plastic and sand, which is said to be 7x stronger and way less brittle than concrete.
Kenya produces 500,000 tons of plastic annually, yet only 9% is getting recycled. Tired of waiting on the government to prioritize the problem, Matee took matters into her own hands. Her product has been used as both paving stones and to build homes. Ironically, the government is now her client, using her product to build schools and roads.
Cork
Yes, from your favorite bottle of wine. It's waterproof, lightweight, a good insulator, breathable, sound-absorbing and weather resistant.
Portugal, which produces more than 50% of the world's cork, has been particularly careful to safeguard this valuable resource. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became illegal to cut down cork oak trees except for essential thinning or the removal of old, non-productive trees.
Cork’s popularity has steadily increased as environmental concerns are at the forefront of the nation. Cork remains the only tree whose bark can regenerate itself after each harvest — leaving the tree unharmed. It is truly a renewable environment.
Its interior application is extremely versatile. Besides wine, it is typically used for flooring, backing, padding, insulation and more. The industry is constantly re-imagining uses for this brilliant material.
hempcrete
Hempcrete is a biocomposite material mix of hemp hurds (wooden cores resembling wood chips) and either lime or sand. It is waterproof, recyclable, non-toxic and biodegradable. It can also be used as a fertilizer once demolished. Even its end process goes back to the earth.
Marijuana and hemp plants are both part of the cannabis sativa species and they both contain active ingredients called cannabinoids. The major difference when it comes to marijuana vs. hemp is that marijuana contains significant amounts of psychoactive THC, while hemp contains 0.3% or less of the compound.
Building with hempcrete blocks regulate moisture, leading to a naturally mold-resistant home. These blocks also act as insulators, sheetrock and walls. However, you would still need the structural framing. Hempcrete can also help to reduce the size of your HVAC system from the typical 5 ton unit to a 1-2 ton unit, cutting costs. With lower energy usage, you could be looking at approximately 50-75% annual savings.
Typically, for aesthetic reasons, hempcrete is not left exposed. It is often covered with lime plaster on interior walls. For a complete and effective insulation strategy, you can add a hemp lime plaster.
There is also the Forever Board, a hemp-based alternative to gypsum board. It is currently the only non-toxic, sustainable and affordable wall panel building material on the market. Water resistant, fire resistant and a natural insect repellent, this material will likely make the gypsum board obsolete.
hempwood
Hempwood is used in lumber for flooring, frames and furniture. Its flammability rating is -1 and toxicity rating -0. Hemp grows in 2-3 month cycles, compared to 50-100 years for oak trees. Several European automobile companies are using hemp fiber in their panels. In the U.S., hemp wood is on the rise as according to hempwood.com, “anything wood can do, hemp can do better .”
Concrete’s New Footprint
Amidst the innovation is a revamping of concrete, the building product with the largest CO2 footprint. Many of the current initiatives in the market involve increasing concrete’s environmental performance by modifying its ingredients. The goal is to replace the standard portland cement with ‘supplementary cementitious materials’, leading to measurable improvements that allow for new configurations and casting techniques. Today, nearly half of the concrete utilized in buildings is unnecessary, according to Automated Concrete Construction [ACORN]. ACORN utilizes robotically driven prefabricated construction methods to optimize structural forms.
3D PrintinG
3D printing technology has expanded over the past few years. The technology has been used for everything from prosthetics to corona virus shields to firearms. A company by the name of SQ4D, Inc. says it has the first 3D printed house in the U.S. for sale. The Riverhead, New York, home is listed online through Zillow with an asking price of $299,999.
The cost of construction is 50% cheaper than the cost of a comparable, newly-constructed home. It can also be erected 10x faster than traditional home builds. SQ4D Inc. boasts that their technology can build homes fast, cheap and strong.
SQ4D can set up its Autonomous Robotic Construction System at a build site in 6-8 hours. It then lays concrete layer by layer, creating footing, the foundation of a house and the interior and exterior walls of the structure. The cement batch quantity is calculated and the concrete is poured on site into the machine. If you can imagine it, the process resembles layering soft-serve ice cream. The 3D printer dispenses cement in lines that build on each other to create walls. It only requires two employees to monitor the machine for issues while it prints in 8-9 days. The company claims it takes 24 accumulated hours over the course of several days.
The house is said to have more strength and durability than a wood-frame construction house, and is guaranteed to last much longer. But of course— time will tell!
ALREADY THE COMPETITION
Mighty Buildings creates houses for order from a factory, already selling and delivering its 3D-printed dwellings in California. They use a synthetic stone that cures almost instantly under UV light, drying quick enough to be printed horizontally without support— as in no need for rebar. This allows for the printing of complex shapes and structures. Systems are currently in the works to have the synthetic stone mimic brick and side paneling through the infusion of fibrous materials. This will give way to a more steel-like product, enabling the capacity for multi-story buildings.
We will continue to keep our eyes peeled for more cost-cutting innovation with a lesser environmental impact. In the mean time, feel free to share anything you’ve seen in the market as well. We would be happy to dedicate additional content to updates provided by you!
Gratitude for your support, always.
shanelle julia rosita + amelia dawn ♡
