Categorie: materials
Metals are often said to be “non-renewable.” It’s suggested there’s no other way to deal with it. But we can renew them—though what’s usually meant is reuse or recycling: renewed use of something that already exists. And that, in turn, is called circular. But that’s not quite correct: it’s prolonged…
Recently, I read some interesting books again about developments in quantum physics and space relativity, essentially the micro and macro aspects of physics, and the attempts to unify the two. It’s not entirely my field, but incredibly fascinating. What I struggle with most in the formation the theory are the…
Cork. Lately I regularly come across publications and buildings with Cork. Ideal insulator, it seems, and weatherproof, And quite a decorative material, recently saw some nice applications in construction design. Well, that could be so, but is it a serious option? For that, we have to dive into some figures….
The discussion keeps coming back: high-rise buildings or not. Cities and towns can’t resist falling in love with high towers.that is, the project developers and politicians. Last year I had the opportunity to explain to a council committee in Utrecht and to a mixed political audience in Eindhoven what is…
How long do buildings last? There’s little scientifically sound to say on the matter, and there are hardly any studies that have fundamentally examined it. Like the question: when does a building lose its primary function as a dwelling when no maintenance is carried out? In other words, when is…
The year 2100: Finally! It’s the year 2100, and for the first time, CO2 emissions from buildings will start going down. It should have been already zero by 2050, but due to spreading emissions over the lifespan of buildings, it’s only mathematically the case from 2100 onwards. Yearly that will…
Regularly questions and discussions arise about wool and sheep [1]. Is it effective and/or useful, is it better/worse than alternatives, and so forth. Time to delve into that and try to put it into perspective. First, let’s look at some numbers: There are approximately 800.000 sheep in the Netherlands, producing…
Recycled materials, once created their impact on the environment, in many forms, and if that (negative) impact is not repaired or compensated, those materials still carry an impact in a second life. In other words , they cannot be considered impact free resources at the time of recycling, at any…
I was forwarded an interesting column, written by a researcher from Ourworldindata, with a comparison in quantity between fossil fuels, and materials extraction. And then the thesis is more or less that the extraction of raw materials to build a renewable energy supply costs many times less raw materials as…
It is popular at the moment, to speak of shame, like for example flight shame. All that CO2 and so on, and yes, that is a consequence and we will have to bear the consequences. It is then misused to suggest to people that they can redeem this, because ,…
