sustainable construction

ETH Meets You at the Swiss Sustainability Forum

22-24 September: At the Swiss Sustainability Forum, ETH Zurich exhibits projects that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the construction sector: "Use less, use alternative, reuse material".

Every month the area of New York City

Construction Industry

How can we reduce the enormous C02 emissions of the construction industry? The construction sector is the most resource-intensive sector in all industrialized countries. The construction industry produces more than one third of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 80% of all waste generated in Switzerland.

New York City

To accommodate the largest wave of urban growth in human history, we expect to add 230 billion m2 of new floor area to the global building stock, the equivalent of adding an entire New York City to the world - every month, for 40 years.

3 pathways that can help

ETH Zurich presents projects to tackle the environmental challenges of the building industry. 12 exhibits show three pathways that can help us lower the embodied carbon of building structures:  

 

Use less material  

White Tower in Mulengs
White Tower in Mulengs,  groundbreaking design from the 3D printer Bild: ETH Zürich

The White Tower (“Weisser Turm”) is an over 20-meter tall, entirely 3D printed building. It demonstrates the groundbreaking possibilities of computational design and digital fabrication, which will fundamentally change conventional building in the years to come. Using robotic concrete extrusion process, the concrete can be applied very specifically only where needed, thereby reducing consumption by a half.  The pioneering construction will be used as a cultural site and bring new life to the Graubünden village of Mulengs.

Use alternative materials  

Oxara
The CO2 footprint of cement-free concrete is up to 80% lower  

ETH spin-off Oxara has developed a low CO? additive technology for a cement-free concrete. It is is 20 times more eco-friendly than ordinary concrete and can be used as non-structural or low load-bearing elements in 2-3 story buildings.  45 million tons of excavated material are thrown away in landfills in Switzerland every year. Oxara uses the landfill material to produce poured earth concrete. Industrially produced, it contributes to a solution for sustainable building and affordable housing.

 

 

Reuse material  

sustainabel Construction
Marking a wooden beam with a barcode for reuse. Image: Marco Moritz

Every year, 80-90 million tons of waste are generated in Switzerland, 84% of which comes from the construction sector. Due to a fragmented supply chain in the construction sector, buildings are getting demolished, rather than deconstructed. A transition to a circular model, in which we reuse building materials, is urgently needed. Technical knowledge is necessary to plan the safe removal of materials and label them for tracking. There is not yet a feasible circular design and management strategy that can be broadly applied in construction practice. Digitalisation can close this gap.

More information about the exhibit pieces:

https://sustainable-digital-construction.ethz.ch/en

Enlarged view: Digital Platform

ETH Zurich presents the exhibition "Use less, use alternative, reuse material" at the external page Swiss Sustainability Forum in Bern on its Digital Platform. Researchers on site provide information.

Public day opening hours:
Saturday, 24 September 2022
11.00 – 18.00

Venue:
Kursaal Bern
Kornhausstrasse 3, 3000 Bern 22

Sustainable Switzerland

ETH Zurich is a founding partner of the external page Sustainable Switzerland platform and the associated Swiss Sustainability Forum of the external page NZZ. In cooperation with renowned partners from business and science, the initiative supports sustainable development in Switzerland, aims to make it visible, networks relevant actors and motivates action.

Contact

Jürg Brunnschweiler
Chief of Staff, Office of the President

Simone Bucher van Ligten
Curator Exhibition

Christina van Ligten
Project Manager

 

myclimate Swiss Sustainability Forum
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