Eco-Friendly Construction Methods.

 Eco-Friendly Construction Methods.

“This we know: the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself”.

- Chief Seattle’s Letter –

Environment, like flora and fauna, where we are a part of it, should be preserved in such a way that there will be more years of human existence on earth. With the advancement of research and civilizations, the development of infrastructure services has become a priority.
Including road constructions, building constructions, establishment of new industrial parks, and so on, are some of the main points that the developers are looking for. However, owing to lack of awareness and lack of environmental sensitivity, architecture has now become a nightmare for the country. But from the ancient civilizations beginning with Mesopotamia, the 21st-century world eventually evolved with all sorts of inventions. Humans need to do further constructions in order to continue creation beyond that. So, humans should come up with clear solutions to the issues of architecture versus the environment.

For this issue, eco-friendly construction methods should be targeted in the process of construction and development.
There are many ways of participating in this process of construction. one of the very famous methods is eco-friendly buildings. Eco-friendly buildings have become one of the latest trends in the world. There are few ways where a building can be turned eco-friendly. By reducing the wastage of energy, water and increasing green community inside and outside of the premises, introducing eco-friendly wastage management methods, etc. Most of the multi-millionaire companies follow this concept since the people are fed up with this unhealthy environment where they are breathing in. some of the examples must be given here so as many will encourage on proceeding this concept. [1]

• PricewaterhouseCooper Building
This is the most eco-friendly building in London city.

• Bank of America, New York
This building was designed by Cook and Fox using renewable materials. The specialty is wastewater and rainwater is reused. And the windows are designed so as natural light can be provided to indoor premises.

• India tower, Mumbai
A tower that uses rainwater recycling methods, methods that provide natural lighting systems and ventilation.

• Burj Al-Taqa, Dubai - This is also known as Dubai’s Energy tower
• Svart hotels in Norway
This hotel produces more energy than it uses. This is also called the world’s first energy-positive hotel.

These are few random examples of eco-friendly buildings all over the world.
Unless these kinds of company buildings, there are apartments and housing schemes which are made 100% eco-friendly. This has become a trend in the construction world hence humans are exhausted with the concrete world.
One of the best examples found in Sri Lanka for eco-friendly residencies is Clearpoint Residencies, Rajagiriya. This construction had been regarded as the world’s tallest vertical garden. The green cover of this apartment acts as a natural cooling system and all apartments are having private gardens. because of apartments receiving less heat, it eliminates the need for large air conditioners. so that energy consumption is very low.[2]

Apart from eco-friendly buildings, another eco-friendly constructing method is using environmentally friendly, nontoxic wall paints. For constructing buildings for industries, health sectors, educations sectors, financial sectors, etc, various kinds of wall paints are used. The acrylic colors contain chemicals including cadmium, cobalt, manganese, chromium, and lead. These chemicals are becoming toxic when,
• These chemicals are used for airbrushing.
• These chemicals are sanded.
• These chemicals are ingested in large amounts.
So, these paints can be replaced with eco-friendly paints which are made up of special technology.

When reconstructing some constructions like roads and buildings, the human can use the wastage like concrete, metals, etc for other purposes. This method will be very useful to both human and ecosystems both. Thus, uselessly collecting these wastages will cause lots of problems like blocking drainage systems. Rather than generating problems from problems, humans can use the problem to an advantageous concept.
When constructing roads, the human can pay attention to so many eco-friendly ideas. For road construction, most of the time tress are cut down and deforestation happens. Roads can be made to avoid valuable forest areas or can construct bridges over the forest areas. And also, for road constructions, humans can use recycled materials. Some foreign countries are following this concept to make their countries eco-friendly. Resulting in the UK had built the first eco-friendly road by using waste plastic by Springfield properties.
Roads can be made with unnecessary stopping at four signals, thus can be reduced the carbon dioxide emission to the environment.

Likewise, there are a lot more methods to proceed with eco-friendly construction inside your country. The only thing humans should understand is, the world should be developed, but still, we are only a part of the environment, not the environment is a part of us. So always environment should come first while constructions and developments are done.

References
1. https://www.processindustryforum.com/
2. https://roar.media/
3. https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/