Sustainable Communities and Buildings

What are sustainable buildings?

A sustainable or green building is designed to be environmentally friendly. Designers achieve this by using renewable energy sources, using recyclable or biodegradable construction materials building supplies resources efficiently, and blending in with the local ecosystems. Sustainable buildings try to reduce environmental impact.

Scroll through the picture gallery to see examples of sustainable buildings.
next

What are the top 3 sustainable building materials and why?

Click the graphics for more information.

Straw/Hay Bales

view details

Bamboo

view details

Recycled Plastic

view details
PREVIOUS
NEXT

Transforming Buildings

If we want the world to have a bright future, we need to change the way that we design houses and other community buildings. There have been many scientific and technological developments that will help us create more sustainable living spaces. These include: 
Click the numbers to find out.
PREVIOUS
NEXT

Sustainable Communities for the Future 

Community action is very important in order to create sustainable communities that will last well in to the future. Diff erent communities all over the world have diff erent ways of making sure that people can live in ways which do not harm the environment too much. 

Here are some eco-activities in which local Australian communities have participated.
PREVIOUS
NEXT

Case Studies

Read these 2 case studies of communities practicing sustainability.

Great! You have reached the end of the ‘Sustainable Communities and Building’ section. Now complete the activity page/s that your teacher has printed off for you.

previous

Online Classroom: Sustainability is produced by Ready-Ed Publications © 2023

Straw bales were used in the past in homes. They are becoming popular again and are used to replace plaster, concrete and other material used in building walls. Straw works very well as insulation. It is a renewable, sustainable resource that is also cheap.

Bamboo has been used for building for thousands of years. It is strong, light weight and renewable. It is used instead of steel and concrete in construction. It is also relatively inexpensive.

Plastic is becoming one of the most sustainable materials for construction. Instead of mining for materials, concrete is produced by grinding up rubbish and recycled plastic. This creates a new use for plastic waste, so it does not go into landfills. Using recycled plastic reduces greenhouse gas emissions and it is very cheap.