Concrete is one of the most widely used building materials worldwide and accounts for around nine per cent of global CO₂ emissions. At the joint symposium ‘Sustainable Building with Concrete?’ organised by iC and the Architekturzentrum Wien, participants discussed how concrete can be used in a more environmentally friendly way in the future and which research and practical approaches can already be tested for this purpose.
Research and practice in dialogue
As part of a double conference, Stefan Krispel (smart minerals) and Helmut Zehentner (iC) presented new research results on low-emission concrete mixtures and their transfer into practice. The focus was on the question of how material efficiency, recyclability and CO₂ reduction can be combined without limiting technical performance.
Built experiments
The presentations by Martina Bauer (Barkow Leibinger Architekten, Berlin) and Martina Maier (Snøhetta Studio Innsbruck) showed concrete implementations of sustainable construction methods and highlighted how broad the spectrum of innovative approaches has become. While Bauer spoke about the use of ultra-lightweight concrete and its potential for energy-efficient high-rise projects, Maier presented transformation projects such as the Oxy building in Brussels, in which existing structures are preserved, reused and functionally developed. Both contributions showed that sustainable construction often begins where existing resources are used intelligently.
Discussion about perspectives
In the concluding panel discussion with representatives from architecture, research and planning, the potential and contradictions of concrete as a building material were openly discussed. It became clear that sustainable construction is not achieved through material innovation alone, but through the interaction of different disciplines, transparent decision-making processes and the consistent application of new findings in planning practice. There was agreement that the conscious, context-related use of concrete plays a central role.
Conclusion
The symposium made it clear that concrete will remain a key building material in the future – but with new requirements in terms of resource conservation, reuse and life cycle thinking. The discussions showed that progress is made above all where research, planning and construction practice jointly explore new avenues and are prepared to critically question established routines. The contributions also made it clear that sustainable construction is less about completely avoiding individual materials and more about using them responsibly in the respective context.
Further media coverage:
Report: https://report.at/bau/symposium-nachhaltig-mit-beton
Immofokus: https://immofokus.at/a/nachhaltig-mit-beton
Building Times: https://buildingtimes.at/allgemein/nachhaltig-mit-beton/
