Advanced EcoCeramic Structural Systems
The increasing pressure on finite natural resources from global demand
for construction materials combined with rising energy consumption is
forcing the construction industry to look for low-impact and less energy
intensive alternatives. This presents a need for abundant materials that
can meet demanding performance criteria. Ceramics represent the most
potential for the ecologically minded building materials of the future.
Oxygen, Silicon, and Aluminum compose the majority of the Earth’s crust,
and are readily found as silica SiO2 and aluminum silicates Al2SiO5 that
can be directly used for the production of ceramics. Ceramic materials
can be used in diverse applications and continuously reclaimed as high
quality materials saving more precious resources. Composites and coatings
augment ceramic materials for high performance architectural applications.
Energy and climatic simulation with physical testing are used to produce
ecologically and biologically minded architectures of advanced ceramic
technologies in response to environmental criteria and thermal comfort.
Digital technologies and physical modeling techniques along with an innovative
look at traditional materials re-inform and re-value the role of earthen
materials in the built environment.
A portion of this research was conducted at The University of Arizona, reprinted with permission of the authors.
