The world production of concrete has been doubled almost 40 times in the period between1926-2000. In addition to that 4 – 5% of the worldwide total of CO2 emissions is caused by cement production. The drawbacks of concrete also include energy consumption, water waste, transporting vehicle pollution and loss of agricultural land. It seems that the world is turning back from his number 1 used material into more environmentally friendly alternatives.
To solve this problem the answer was divided into two sectors, first to enhance the way we produce and use our construction material on site. And this can be achieved by following the sustainable building design principles and green guides. Second is to depend on the local materials of the surrounding environment. The researchers have shown that for every spot in the globe there is a type of material that totally fits to build in this environment. By using this kind of materials, you minimize your carbon footprint, cost and time.
The green sustainable construction is replacing the old traditional methods of building starting from the smaller cell “apartment” reaching the whole urban fabric as a “city”. The demand for going greener is pushing to develop new tools and materials to be implemented in the construction sector.
Green apartment
Green apartment is a new kind of housing units that have becoming virally trending in the last years especially in the US market. Now residents started to change their apartments into greener places to live by simple ways as using solar heaters, minimizing waste and saving energy consumption. And it seems that it works. The number of LEED-certified units built by the year 2018 has reached 13-times more than those were built in 2008.
Energy Efficient Building
The real estate industry is now thinking of energy efficient buildings, how to build and operate them? The LEED certification became an important addition to your building. The design process went greener through more comprehensively sustainable planning and building practices. This approach is not only to save our planet on the environmental level but also to achieve more economic growth and social stability. Highlighting the benefits, you gain from this methodology have motivated most of the participants in the building process to go green with the trend. The designer follows more sustainable design principals. The general contractors are fulfilling their role in operating a greener site and a healthier environment for workers. The size of green building market has jumped 2 billion dollars in 2005 into 81 billion dollars in 2014 and is continuing to grow.
Sustainable City
Going to the large scale, cities are changing into a simpler livable place to live and move, enhancing walkability and cycling are trending over the luxurious vehicles. For the last decades, the top cities as quality of living were demanding big curtained towers and expensive flats. Now, we are back to the origin. A city is now judged by its carbon emission, heat island effect due to planting area, pedestrian routes and shared transportation options. The vertical urban sprawl is replaced with the horizontal one and the demand of a “city for people” is coming over the plastic city image.
Green Real Estate as an Asset for Investment
If you are thinking about investing in real estate, then the best decision you can make is to go with the flow. The statistics showed that the biggest part of home buying market goes for the Millennials, the generation who considers energy efficiency as a priority in getting a new home. They tend to evaluate the green unit financially higher than the rest of residential available units.
It’s not only about money saving here, however it plays an influential part, but also, it’s about the quality of living in a space, you minimize your energy consumption and hence enjoy a less pollutant environment around. We spend almost 60% of our time indoor which means simple enhancements and modifications in the indoor surroundings will positively affect our mental and physical health. All the indicators are showing that the future is supporting the sustainable construction industry. If you are still in doubt of getting your new green unit, we suggest that you “just do it.”
