Building materials

The building envelope should have a high insulation in walls, ceilings and floors. High efficiency windows are also a must in an eco-building.

In regards to building materials we very often again return to the materials that have been used for centuries, such as wood (certified) and rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo, straw, trass, sheep wool, linen, sisal seegrass, cork, coconut, sandstone, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, expanded clay grains etc.

Other building materials typically considered to be ‘green’ include: insulating concrete forms, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, recyclable, for example: linoleum, panels made from paper flakes, compressed earth block, vermiculite,  wood fibre plates, calcium stone, certain types of concrete, etc.

It again depends on where you build your house. You should have a look to see what materials have been used in the area for centuries and see if you could use these materials for your house as well.