Sustainable development through technologically optimized Naturwerstoffe

KREOD Pavilion, London

The time when technology was used to dominate and damage nature is over. A new era begins with innovative methods that improve the technical and aesthetic properties of natural materials. A range of new materials is revolutionizing design and supporting the development of sustainable architecture, construction, and product design. Specialists in technologically optimized natural materials highlight the benefits of using these resources. The examples show that innovative techniques and advanced production methods can turn natural materials into modern and competitive products.

Sustainable development based on optimized natural materials and technical progress

Barajas Airport, Madrid

New materials based on natural ingredients can contribute to a more harmonious relationship with the environment. They compete with established synthetic products and, unlike many of them, optimized natural materials can be efficient in use, biodegradable, recyclable, durable, and attractive. Their unique properties open new horizons for architects and designers.

Innovative production techniques improve the material world

Deeply committed to sustainable development is the Spanish manufacturer Cosentino. The company focuses on responsible production using natural raw materials. The Prexury by Cosentino family is a strong, elastic surface material developed with semi-precious stones, petrified wood, and rare fossils, making it suitable for cladding and interior design.

Silestone Nebula is a stone-look surface made with a high proportion of quartz

Physical changes in construction

Controlled production processes create new possibilities for surface treatment that are more practical and less expensive than traditional handwork. Natural stone surfaces usually require time-consuming manual processing, but Lithos Design uses computer modeling and five-axis CNC technology to create three-dimensional mosaics. Carefully processed natural stone surfaces can then function as modular geometric elements and partitions in interior design.

Optimized organic materials revolutionize architecture and design

Natural materials can be used in many ways because of their intrinsic properties. Thanks to new production techniques, bamboo can replace traditional wood in architecture and design. Bamboo is a rapidly renewable natural material with functional and aesthetic qualities. MOSO, a producer in the Netherlands, focuses on developing sustainable bamboo products, including boards, veneers, panels, blocks, and other elements. Bamboo products can be highly sustainable in construction, and their appearance varies with processing methods such as carbonization, which changes the color.

Development of new bamboo products

New natural materials for interior finishes

This is the new Terminal 4 at Madrid-Barajas Airport, designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners with Estudio Lamela. The underside of the roof is covered with slightly curved MOSO bamboo slats. With about 200,000 square meters of bamboo ceiling board, the terminal is an architectural landmark.

Technically optimized composite materials

Design should not be limited to homogeneous natural products. Technical materials are essential to the development of sustainable products because they can be tailored to specific uses and requirements. FluidSolids, a composite material developed by Zurich-based designer and materials expert Beat Karrer, is made from agricultural and industrial waste from renewable raw materials. It is odorless, emission-free, non-toxic, and biodegradable. It can be processed with techniques used for thermoplastics and can be shaped and colored for limited editions or small series.

FluidSolids organic binders

Natural material – odorless and biodegradable

Architonic Concept Space IV

The sculptural design-fair space was created with FluidSolids.

Chemical methods are creating materials with exceptional properties

Photo by James Brittain

Changes to chemical structure at the molecular level can improve the performance properties of a material. Plato Wood is a product made from chemically treated timber. It was used as cladding material for the Old Bearhurst project in Kent, England, by Duggan Morris Architects.

Technically optimized natural materials

Other products on the market are improved through chemical processes, including Thermowood, Accoya, and Kebony – competitive and sustainable alternatives to slow-growing tropical hardwoods.

Accoya bridge – Moses Bridge in Halsteren, Netherlands, by RO & AD Architecten

Wood treated by Kebony through the Kebonization process is modified by polymerization. Classic wood is impregnated with a bio-based liquid, and the resulting furan polymer strengthens the cell-wall structure. Treated wood becomes durable, insect-resistant, dimensionally stable, and free of toxic substances. A change in color is one visible side effect.

Kebony material maintenance

Innovative materials used in architecture and design include biopolymers produced by living organisms and reinforced with natural fibers. Bio-composites can serve as alternatives to polymers reinforced with glass fiber.

KREOD Pavilion in London, reinforced with organic compounds from natural fibers

Louisiana Pavilion by Danish office 3XN – Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Promoting growth through green structures

Green roofs, facades, plants, and urban farms have long been part of city architecture and contribute to air purification. The integration of nature into architectural systems has become more controlled. The vertical garden Benetti Moss, made from stabilized moss panels embedded in resin, is a Benetti product. It is suitable for interiors and helps regulate humidity. The moss requires no special care, is robust, and can thrive without direct sunlight.

Living wall by Benetti Moss

Use biological mechanisms

At the International Building Exhibition in Hamburg, Arup presented the ambitious BIQ House facade, a bio-adaptive project also known as SolarLeaf. Its glass facade elements house microalgae. The living microalgae grow in the building envelope and provide sun protection, privacy, thermal insulation, and acoustic benefits. They absorb solar energy and help heat water in a hot-water tank. Older algae are harvested and fermented in a biogas plant, generating energy again.

Microalgae live in the building

Photo: © Colt International, Germany; Arup; SSC GmbH

8 House by BIG, Copenhagen – installation of the green roof

Good House by RO & AD Architecten in Roosendaal

Photo: Erik Stekelenburg

Solar-powered laser cutter

In the search for new natural energy sources and their use as design tools, Markus Kayser created a solar-powered laser cutter in 2010. The device combines solar energy with mechanical cutting, directing light through a glass lens to cut two-dimensional segments.

Capture solar energy

Photo by Amos Field Reid

Kayser’s Solar Sinter uses sunlight to melt desert sand in the Sahara. Solid objects are formed with selective laser sintering, a 3D-printing process. A 2008 study by architect Magnus Larsson explored how bacteria could transform sand into large sandstone formations in the desert. The giant D-Shape 3D printer, used in studies with Foster & Partners, points to the potential of building in hard-to-reach areas because material can be produced on site. One day, similar technologies may even be used on the moon to build with lunar soil.

Via Architonic