Building construction requires substantial amounts of materials. Most buildings primarily consist of reinforced concrete, whose production is a highly energy-demanding process. Concrete has only poor potential for recycling; materials from demolished buildings end up as landfill. Most insulation materials are petrochemicals, i.e. made from fossil fuels, and health concerns are growing because of carcinogenic properties of polyurethane-based foam & Co.

In Melk (Lower Austria) a building was constructed which is almost fully recyclable. 95% of its materials can be recycled. What is more, many of them are already in their second round of use: Paper waste serves as insulation material. As the house belongs to a printing enterprise (Kommunikationshaus Gugler; http://www.gugler.at/home.html), the waste paper used for insulation had an ignorable travelling distance. Instead of concrete, the house contains larch wood; and sheep-wool serves as eco-friendly alternative to eco-toxic assembly foam.

Because Kommunikationshaus Gugler naturally renounces use of toxic substances in its printing products, the building´s insulation materials will be fully compostable. What would remain from the house in a thousand years would be small indispensable components such as electric cables, light switches and small anchoring devices.

What about costs? Three million Euro. Conventional building of the same size would be significantly cheaper. However, the comparison neglects any costs arising AFTER the utilization period. Taking into account the entire life cycle of a house (or any other product) will be of increasing importance. If one additionally considers the growing resource scarcity plus demolition and landfill costs the sustainable value of Gugler´s investment becomes obvious.  

The building perfectly matches the philosophy of Kommunikationshaus Gugler, whose printing products follow the cradle-to-cradle principle.

Figure source: ORF.at