Architects could soon be designing homes and other buildings using nothing but biomaterials, according to Biobased Creations CEO Lucas De Man.
De Man believes that natural products such as timber, hemp, straw and mycelium could completely replace polluting, non-renewable materials such as steel, plasterboard and cement.
Buildings "definitely could be" made exclusively from plant-based products plus natural mineral materials such as earth and lime, said De Man, whose company is behind an all-natural showhome built at this year's Dutch Design Week.
Top: an all-natural showhome was displayed built at Dutch Design Week. Above: Biobased Creations CEO Lucas De Man
The project aims to prove that biomaterials can be used to build houses at scale and features 100 different plant-based or natural materials that are commercially available already or launching soon. According to De Man, the same materials could be used to build large-scale buildings such as offices and schools.
"For bigger skyscrapers, I think you still need concrete for the foundations," he said after giving Dezeen a tour of the showhome, which is called The Exploded View Beyond Building. "But the concrete can be without cement, so the impact is way less."
"Practically it is already possible"
However, the construction industry will need a radical overhaul to achieve this, according to Pascal Leboucq head of design at Biobased Creations.
"Right now only three per cent of m...