Local Materials (2024)

With the advancement of technologies and rapid improvement in building materials to keep up with the pace of urbanisation, the construction methods and technologies has been facing challenges due to unsustainable aspects of some building materials. This has put stress on the environment and has also increased consumption of energy and other degradable resources. On the hindsight, this has also created opportunities for innovative and unconventional resources to emerge by reinventing the traditional building materials and using it in an intelligent way!

WHAT IS A LOCAL MATERIAL?

Locally available materials of a region like timber, stone, sand etc are considered as local materials. In various green building certifications use of local materials increase the project’s sustainable quotients and lead to some points gain. The distance between the sources of materials and project site for the material to be qualified as local materials varies across certification programs. LEED, the most common standard used, defines local materials in MR Credit 5 as “Building materials or products that have been extracted, harvested, or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles of the project site for a minimum of 10% or 20%, based on cost, of the total materials value.”

WHY USE LOCAL MATERIALS?

However, despite all the obvious benefits, the use of local materials in projects has been limited. High-tech materials and advanced technologies like 3D printing, Double skinned walls etc almost always seem to dominate the conversation - at least in architectural circles. Low-tech materials like lumber, stone and brick, on the other hand, are often overlooked, even though the use of local and locally produced materials offers the lowest possible carbon footprint. Locally produced materials are often sought because they match a local design aesthetic and can be more durable in the local climate. However, choosing local materials also supports local economies and reduces the environmental impacts of transportation. What’s more, the building integrates with the local culture and becomes one with the place.

THE PROPONENTS OF LOCAL MATERIALS IN INDIA