NEXT GENERATION BUILDING MATERIALS The 21st century faces a radical change in how we produce construction materials – a shift towards cultivating, breeding, raising, farming, or growing future resources. This book presents innovative industrialized production methods for cultivated building materials, like cement grown by bacteria, bricks made of mushroom mycelium, or bamboo fibers as reinforcement for concrete. Spanning from scientific research to product development and architectural application, this book builds a bridge between the academic and the professional world of architecture. The book describes the challenges, strategies, and goals in the first part, followed by a second part on bamboo, A cultivated building material and a number of examples in the third part which form the bridge from cultivated materials to building products.

”Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Recover“ is the sustainable guideline that has replaced the ”Take, Make, Waste“ attitude of the industrial age. Based on their background at the ETH Zurich and the Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore, the authors provide both a conceptual and practical look into materials and products which use waste as a renewable resource. This book introduces an inventory of current projects and building elements, ranging from marketed products, among them façade panels made of straw and self-healing concrete, to advanced research and development like newspaper, wood or jeans denim used as isolating fibres. Going beyond the mere recycling aspect of reused materials, it looks into innovative concepts of how materials usually regarded as waste can be processed into new construction elements. The products are organized along the manufacturing processes: densified, reconfigured, transformed, designed and cultivated materials. A product directory presents all materials and projects in this book according to their functional uses in construction: load-bearing, self-supporting, insulating, waterproofing and finishing products.

Performance of Bio-based Building Materials provides guidance on the use of bio-based building materials (BBBM) with respect to their performance. The book focuses on BBBM currently present on the European market. The state-of-the-art is presented regarding material properties, recommended uses, performance expectancies, testing methodology, and related standards. Chapters cover both 'old and traditional' BBBM since quite a few of them are experiencing a comeback on the market. Promising developments that could become commercial in the near future are presented as well. The book will be a valuable reference resource for those working in the bio-based materials research community, architects and agencies dealing with sustainable construction, and graduate students in civil engineering. - Takes a unique approach to bio-based materials and presents a broad overview of the topics on relevant areas necessary for application and promotion in construction - Contains a general description, notable properties related to performance, and applications - Presents standards that are structured according to performance types

Using plant material as raw materials for construction is a relatively recent and original topic of research. This book presents an overview of the current knowledge on the material properties and environmental impact of construction materials made from plant particles, which are renewable, recyclable and easily available. It focuses on particles and as well on fibers issued from hemp plant, as well as discussing hemp concretes. The book begins by setting the environmental, economic and social context of agro-concretes, before discussing the nature of plant-based aggregates and binders. The formulation, implementation and mechanical behavior of such building materials are the subject of the following chapters. The focus is then put upon the hygrothermal behavior and acoustical properties of hempcrete, followed by the use of plant-based concretes in structures. The book concludes with the study of life-cycle analysis (LCA) of the environmental characteristics of a banked hempcrete wall on a wooden skeleton. Contents 1. Environmental, Economic and Social Context of Agro-Concretes, Vincent Nozahic and Sofiane Amziane. 2. Characterization of Plant-Based Aggregates. Vincent Picandet. 3. Binders, Gilles Escadeillas, Camille Magniont, Sofiane Amziane and Vincent Nozahic. 4. Formulation and Implementation, Christophe Lanos, Florence Collet, Gérard Lenain and Yves Hustache. 5. Mechanical Behavior, Laurent Arnaud, Sofiane Amziane, Vincent Nozahic and Etienne Gourlay. 6. Hygrothermal Behavior of Hempcrete, Laurent Arnaud, Driss Samri and Étienne Gourlay. 7. Acoustical Properties of Hemp Concretes, Philippe Glé, Emmanuel Gourdon and Laurent Arnaud. 8. Plant-Based Concretes in Structures: Structural Aspect – Addition of a Wooden Support to Absorb the Strain, Philippe Munoz and Didier Pipet. 9. Examination of the Environmental Characteristics of a Banked Hempcrete Wall on a Wooden Skeleton, by Lifecycle Analysis: Feedback on the LCA Experiment from 2005, Marie-Pierre Boutin and Cyril Flamin. About the Authors Sofiane Amziane is Professor and head of the Civil Engineering department at POLYTECH Clermont-Ferrand in France. He is also in charge of the research program dealing with bio-based building materials at Blaise Pascal University (Institut Pascal, Clermont Ferrand, France). He is the secretary of the RILEM Technical Committee 236-BBM dealing with bio-based building materials and the author or co-author of over one hundred papers in scientific journals such as Cement and Concrete Research, Composite Structures or Construction Building Materials as well as international conferences. Laurent Arnaud is a Bridges, Waters and Forestry Engineer (Ingénieur des Ponts, Eaux et Forêts) and researcher at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France. He is also Professor at ENTPE (Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l’Etat). Trained in the field of mechanical engineering, his research has been directed toward the characterization and development of new materials for civil engineering and construction. He is head of the international committee at RILEM – BBM, as well as the author of more than one hundred publications, and holder of an international invention patent.

Cultivated: The Elements of Floral Style elevates floral design to fine art in this richly informative work on the principles of floral style. A charming and intelligent mentor, Christin Geall emboldens designers, gardeners, and entrepreneurs to think differently and deeply about their work with flowers as she draws upon the fine arts and historical sources, exploring Baroque music, the paintings of the Impressionists, or the work of floral innovators like Gertrude Jekyll and Constance Spry. Covering all aspects of floral design, including choosing plants to grow and arrange, selecting tools and vessels, balancing color and form, and even photographing and selling arrangements, Cultivated offers universal lessons for all levels of practitioners, budgets, and materials. Geall's stunning photographs of her own lush designs illustrate techniques for creating brilliant arrangements that spark the imagination.

Informal settlements made up of corrugated iron shacks and other materials are a ubiquitous feature in the megacities of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In response to the enormous influx of migrants from the countryside, the informal city experienced a phenomenal growth. While rightly criticized for their lack of hygiene and for their low-level living conditions, these shelters nevertheless provide planning strategies and possibly even a roadmap to a resilient city in an emerging territory. The unregistered economic activities associated with them proliferate in a similar way and basic urban services are increasingly provided informally. Examples of these economic phenomena are microloans, bottom-up insurance or professions such as the "Kuré-Yalew" (refuse collector), who acts as an "urban miner" and thus contributes a valuable service to the community by recycling materials.

Learn how to fill forests with food by viewing agriculture from a remarkably different perspective: that a healthy forest can be maintained while growing a wide range of food, medicinal, and other nontimber products. The practices of forestry and farming are often seen as mutually exclusive, because in the modern world, agriculture involves open fields, straight rows, and machinery to grow crops, while forests are reserved primarily for timber and firewood harvesting. In Farming the Woods, authors Ken Mudge and Steve Gabriel demonstrate that it doesn’t have to be an either-or scenario, but a complementary one; forest farms can be most productive in places where the plow is not: on steep slopes and in shallow soils. Forest farming is an invaluable practice to integrate into any farm or homestead, especially as the need for unique value-added products and supplemental income becomes increasingly important for farmers. Many of the daily indulgences we take for granted, such as coffee, chocolate, and many tropical fruits, all originate in forest ecosystems. But few know that such abundance is also available in the cool temperate forests of North America. Farming the Woods covers in detail how to cultivate, harvest, and market high-value nontimber forest crops such as American ginseng, shiitake mushrooms, ramps (wild leeks), maple syrup, fruit and nut trees, ornamentals, and more. Along with profiles of forest farmers from around the country, readers are also provided comprehensive information on: • historical perspectives of forest farming; • mimicking the forest in a changing climate; • cultivation of medicinal crops; • cultivation of food crops; • creating a forest nursery; • harvesting and utilizing wood products; • the role of animals in the forest farm; and, • how to design your forest farm and manage it once it’s established. Farming the Woods is an essential book for farmers and gardeners who have access to an established woodland, are looking for productive ways to manage it, and are interested in incorporating aspects of agroforestry, permaculture, forest gardening, and sustainable woodlot management into the concept of a whole-farm organism.

'Booming Bamboo' provides a comprehensive overview of the enormous potential of this sustainable resource. Not only for architecture and design but also for a multitude of other applications. After covering the "bamboo basics" (growth, properties, cultural history, industrialisation), the first part of the book introduces the many benefits of bamboo as a fast-growing, renewable resource. The second part presents the various ways in which bamboo can be transformed into many different exciting materials and fabrics.