Can the building industry break its addiction to concrete?

Concrete: we can’t live with it, can’t live without it. A combination of cement, water and ground rock or sand, on the surface concrete might seem crushingly mundane. Yet it has defined construction in recent centuries and with it, in part, modernity.

But do we need to re-evaluate our concrete habit for our sakes and the planet’s? Production of cement is disastrous for our biosphere, while the degradation of many concrete buildings has some construction experts predicting a colossal headache in the future.

There are myriad proposed solutions, such as changing the way we make concrete, creating sustainable alternatives or doing away with it altogether. But would we want to live in a world without concrete? And what would that world look like?

The Great Wall of WA, Western Australia —

Composed of iron rich, sandy clay, the building is constructed with a 230-meter-long rammed earth wall. It only took a small amount of steel and concrete to build.

The Wood Innovation and Design Center, British Columbia, Canada —

This six-story building with a ground floor mezzanine and a rooftop mechanical penthouse won the 2016 Governor General's Medal in Architecture. Designed with CLT floor panels, Glulam beams and mass timber walls, there is no concrete used in the building above the ground floor slab.

The Wood Innovation and Design Center, British Columbia, Canada —

With a height of 29.5 meters, the lower levels are occupied by the University of Northern BC's wood design program while the upper levels are office spaces for organizations associated with the wood industry.

BskyB Believe in Better Building, London —

Designed for the BskyB's outreach and training program, the building was completed in less than a year according to ARUP Associates. Constructed with solid timber frame, the 3,000-square-meter, four-story building features a restaurant and roof terrace.

Windhover Contemplative Center, Stanford University —

Designed for California's Stanford University in 2014, this 370-square-meter building serves as a spiritual retreat for the institution.

Windhover Contemplative Center, Stanford University —

With a private garden surrounded by tall bamboo, the building is constructed by thick-rammed earth walls and dark wood surfaces. The thick rammed earth wall were made of soil excavated from the site.