Channel Projects, an architecture studio, sought to develop a solution that would encourage steel reuse in the construction industry, in order to tackle the material’s significant contribution to global carbon emissions.

With support from ReLondon’s business transformation team and the Mayor of London’s Green New Deal fund, Channel Projects was able to further develop its “ReFrame” industrial building concept and business model.

The UK Government’s recent climate change legislation and the ambitious carbon targets from funders and end users, are encouraging developers and their design teams to look at exactly where carbon is contained within construction projects and where it can be reduced.  

A pioneering passive house retrofit in Sri Lanka creates an economic catalyst and model for sustainable development.

The Star Innovation Center is a product development facility located outside of Colombo in Katunayake, Sri Lanka. Planned as a global model for the entire garment industry, the project sets a new high bar for sustainability, energy efficiency and worker comfort.

Capturing components and materials at the end of a building’s use phase requires a conscious decision at the design stage, so that the building is seen not only as an aesthetic and functional entity, but also a future material store. In Brummen in the Netherlands, a new town hall was needed, but there was concern that, due to shifting district boundaries, the building could become redundant in the foreseeable future. The municipality therefore decided to commission a building with a fixed service life of 20 years.

The Friendship Hospital Satkhira, designed by Kasef Chowdhury/URBANA, is built to serve a rural population in the Bangladesh delta. The community hospital of eighty beds was initiated by a donation of land by a local philanthropist.

The construction in bricks built in situ celebrates this ordinary material without having to resort to complex technology leading to increased budgets. Local materials by local craftmanship helps the integration of the building to the native culture and society.

This project won the RIBA International Prize 2021

Construction commenced on this project in 2006, and it was officially opened in 2009, taking a total of 42 months to complete. The concrete piers of this iconic bridge were constructed using 50% Ecocem GGBS, saving thousands of tonnes of CO2 and greatly increasing the bridge's lifespan.

Ecological restoration and the integration of a comprehensive greening approach has enhanced livelihood security for migrant settlers in the Minawao refugee camp in northern Cameroon. An ecologically sensitive approach to the management of natural resources and ecosystems has both increased environmental sustainability, and increased the quality of life and access to livelihood opportunities for local community members.

TYPHABOARD is made from typha (cattail), a plant that grows quickly and easily in all kinds of marshes throughout the world.The material provides both structural and insulation properties. It can be used in timber frame structures, or 100% typha strutures. It can also be used as insulation materials when retrofitting existing buildings.

The PA Hemp Home is Pennsylvania’s first total renovation of a residential structure using hemp-based building materials, utilizing breathable spray-applied Hemplime in its walls and HempWood on its floors.  The project, supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture was an honoree of the 2021 Fast Co.

From the Healthy Materials Lab, five case studies profiling affordable housing projects utilising healthier materials.