Green building materials

Vitaliy Kozlov
Chief Architect of «Comfortbud» Design Institute

Energy saving problem is acquiring particular attention due to the growth of demand for energy resources, the constant increase of tariffs for heat and electric energy, and the deterioration of the environment.

Using modern energy-efficient materials allows you to design buildings not only with low energy consumption, but also with different indicators of price range, comfort and ecological compatibility, which is relevant in the framework of modern building industry. Ukrainian developers are also beginning to use “green” building materials when constructing modern facilities.

   To give comments on this urgent topic we asked our expert – Vitaliy Kozlov, chief architect of “ComfortBud” Design Institute.

   “Speaking today about “green” building materials, we must first identify what exactly is meant by this concept? Many manufacturers adapted under this term all materials made of natural, “environmentally friendly” raw stuff. But in the classical meaning, “green” building materials are materials that are made from renewable natural (that is, organic) raw stuff and, with “zero” or minimal carbon dioxide emissions during their manufacturing. Thus, such an “ecological” material, as ceramic brick, made from natural (and relatively regenerating) clay, can not be considered a “green” material, as it throws out large volumes of carbon dioxide when it is burned.

   The most common and popular “green” building material in the world is, of course, wood. The range of using this material is quite wide. But in Ukraine, wood is used only for the construction of individual dwelling and low-rise multi-apartment buildings, as well as small commercial objects. This also concerns other popular “green” materials – straw and reeds (used for the arrangement of roofs); heaters from hemp, cellulose and cotton. The latest are also interesting, because during their production recyclable materials (up to 75%) are being used.

   The limited usage of these materials in Ukrainian construction is caused by rather tough requirements for combustibility and durability in mass civil construction. The problem with organic materials lies in their fire danger, what means they must be chemically processed to be used, which in turn reduces their environmental friendliness. Therefore, for the use of “green” material, certification of fire safety is important.

   The above materials can quite be produced in Ukraine, but nevertheless the share of imported materials is quite high (let’s say about 60-65% of the market share). This is explained by the quality requirements for the material, which not always can be ensured by the domestic manufacturer. Therefore, the widely spread is a fact of production of such materials by foreign producers out of Ukrainian raw stuff.

   In our opinion, an interesting «green» building material, which is not very widespread, but very promising, is “arbolit” – construction blocks out of wood sawdust and cement. Although, the usage of cement in this material (up to 25%) slightly reduces its environmental (green) properties, but it significantly increases its fire safety, which in turn opens wide possibilities for its use in civil mass construction and can create a serious competition to such popular materials in this segment as foam and gas blocks.

    Anyway, there is no doubt that the future belongs to environmentally friendly and renewable building materials. And Ukraine as the country with the richest and most perspective organic resources has all the opportunities to produce such materials. But the introduction and exploitation of these materials in Ukraine is backed off by regulatory legislation. That’s why, to expand the market, we need an audit and review of domestic standards in this area”.

   Previously, Vitaliy has already commented on issues of environmental and energy efficiency in Ukraine for the well-known publication of residential and commercial real estate “Property Times”. Details are available on the link.