Green Building Materials: Not 1 But 3 Little Pigs Can Be Winners

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treehouse photo by Linus Bohman is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Remember the three little pigs and their variously constructed houses, only one of which survived the huffing and puffing of the big bad wolf?

Well, modern, eco-aware societies need pigs that have upgraded their housing construction knowledge. Old materials, supposedly not-so-good, are making a strong comeback, powered by green ingenuity.

Brick is old school. Hopeful brick manufacturers and industry supporters, from the largest1, to the smallest2, are keen to suggest that brick can be “eco-friendly.” Studies considering conventionally manufactured bricks are not necessarily quite so optimistic, however3. One of brick’s biggest claims to fame is the potential longevity of brick buildings. It’s been keeping little pigs safe for centuries4.

What about the other two inexpensive, green, but traditionally less than wolf-proof materials?

Houses of straw? Yes!

There’s a boom in countries that are sophisticated enough to build with straw, (rather than consume it). Leaping to mind is the expanding use of hemp as a building material5. Extending our definition of “straw” to include the dried stems of the grass known as bamboo opens up an near-infinite range of “green” building techniques traditionally used in some parts of the world6.

But for some of the most towering achievements in wolf-proof building, we need to have a fresh, eco-conscious look at a naturally green construction material that was shunned by the safety-conscious little pigs. Read more about building with “sticks” in Next City:  The Newest Green Building Material Is One of the Oldest: Wood

Footnotes

  1. Read in brickhunter: Are Bricks Environmentally Friendly?
  2. Read more in New Frame: South Africa: Women Master the Art of Exploiting a Greener Future
  3. For example, here’s a study, suitably hedged, that suggests that a brick house has twice the carbon footprint of one constructed with wood, accessed at ResearchGate: An Environmental Impact of a Wooden and Brick House by the LCA Method
  4. The longevity of a building can have a significant effect on its carbon footprint. Try: Evidence Public Housing Can Be Done Better, The Next Time Around
  5. Try: Here’s The Dope On Green Public Housing In Paris
  6. Try: Green and Mean — Sustainable Affordable Housing: Why Not Try Bamboo?