Green Building: What It Is and What Materials Are Used

Definition of Green Building

The term green building, or bio-architecture, refers to the design, construction, renovation, or conversion of a building in a more ecological and sustainable way.
Building according to the principles of green building means integrating the use of natural materials with more classical construction techniques, aiming to reduce the energy impact of the building element.

As a discipline, this construction technique is founded on clear and well-defined principles:

• Integrated approach: understood as the need for all actors to be competent in the subject (from the architect to the builder) and to know the possible solutions and techniques;
  
  
• Consideration of geographical constraints: green building constructions must take into account and respect the land and landscape where they will be built. They must therefore be compatible with them;
  
  
• Choice of materials: through a careful selection of materials, it is necessary to avoid or reduce thermal bridges. Floors, walls, and roofs can indeed be constructed by seeking to optimize acoustic impact, durability, and general energy performance;
  
  
• Energy performance: thanks to the installation of plants or sources of clean and renewable energy, it is possible to significantly meet the energy needs and related consumption of the building in light of reducing its environmental impact;
  
  
• Health and comfort of the inhabitants: a building constructed according to the criteria of green building will be able to satisfy the thermal, acoustic, visual, and hygrothermal well-being of those who live in it, ensuring a good quality of life and protection from electromagnetic fields and humidity.

What Materials Are Used in Green Building?

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, the choice of materials in green building is fundamental. Given the limited availability of natural resources and, above all, their non-exhaustibility, experts in the field prefer renewable eco-materials that do not produce excessive waste and are not toxic to humans.
Among the most favored materials, we remember:

• Wood;
  
  
• Straw;
  
  
• Cork;
  
  
• Gypsum;
  
  
• Hemp;
  
  
• Jute;
  
  
• Bamboo;
  
  
• Expanded clay and lime;
  
  
• Natural origin paints.

For each material, the use of specific fastening elements is necessary. For example, for prefabricated eco-friendly wooden houses that generally have the structure in this material, it is possible to use:

• Wood screws;
  
  
• Self-tapping cylindrical head screw for fixing wooden frames;
  
  
• Chipboard screw with flat countersunk head super countersinking;
  
  
• Washers;
  
  
• DIN 571 wood screw;
  
  
• High-strength screws.

Such products can be subjected to treatments such as hot-dip galvanizing.

Green Building: Pros and Cons

At this point, it seems useful and necessary to dedicate a small in-depth study to the pros and cons of green building. Specifically, as far as advantages are concerned, we can talk about:

• Energy and water savings;
  
  
• Better air and water quality;
  
  
• Zero impact on the environment;
  
  
• Incentives and tax deductions.

Linked to this last advantage, we can instead talk about what is the downside of green building and, therefore, its disadvantages. Indeed, this technique has still very high construction costs. Although these are recovered over the years, precisely thanks to deductions and incentives, they represent a big initial obstacle.
However, given the changes in recent years, it is hopeful and predictable that such difficulties will be increasingly overcome in the future.

Examples of Green Building Constructions

Bio-architecture projects are not, therefore, stand-alone. Often, in fact, the final result is buildings constructed in cities or urbanized areas that make the city and human settlements more inclusive, safe, lasting, and sustainable.

Among the examples of sustainable buildings, probably more known and common, we can include:

• Wood houses: high technical level and certified structures, built directly on-site;
  
  
• Prefabricated wood houses: structures made inside a production plant and, subsequently, transported to the construction site.The movement of the load-bearing structure (walls, floors, stairwells, or elevators) takes place on-site only when the foundation slab is ready.

Thanks to studies and ad hoc designs, in both cases, the final results are structures that combine craftsmanship and the avant-garde of the latest energy solutions ensuring low energy consumption, high standards of living comfort, and thus, respect for the environment and man.

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