Materials You Can Eat: Buildings to Nourish People and Planet
Materials You Can Eat: Buildings to Nourish People and Planet
So many of the materials we rely on to shelter us are harmful to life, people, and the planet, but some materials are so good you could practically eat them! During this session you’ll hear from leading designers, builders and manufacturers in the use of earth, stone, wood and straw construction. Through inspirational case studies, research, and data-driven product profiles, the panellists will demonstrate the cultural, physiological, and environmental importance of using natural materials. This panel is tailored for building designers and developers looking to utilise the biodegradable, insulating, hygroscopic, carbon sequestering, resilient, and structural properties of these materials. While natural building materials have often been dismissed as too niche, small-scale, or antiquated to hold relevance in the palette of modern building materials, this presentation will demonstrate real-world applications of low-impact materials used in high performance contexts in a variety of scales and applications. As the market continues to seek material solutions that provide value in low-carbon and carbon storage, low toxicity, biophilia, and beauty, natural materials are more important now than ever - and easier to incorporate into your next project than ever before. With the Bio-Based Materials Pavillion on the Trade Floor, this session will prepare participants to unpack the value and understand the potential of this critical class of material solutions for the problems of the 21st century that are available today.