Architecture is, above all, a material reality. The materials that surround us are the result of a chain of constructive, economic, aesthetic and, in more contemporary examples, environmental considerations. Decisions are shaped by available technology, manageable technique, time-related expectations and regulatory frameworks. To face the pressures on our built environment, those multidimensional conditions must change through what we call innovation: the tangible creation of new products and strategies with problem-solving capabilities. Matter is the general term for physical substance that has mass and takes up space. When matter is given a specific type, form, or useful application, it becomes material. Material transformation therefore requires going beyond recycling and reuse: combining existing matter to create new materials that open up new possibilities for construction. The research presented below suggests that demonizing existing materials is unnecessary as long as this capacity for innovation exists.
Transforming Existing Matter
Materials can be rendered obsolete when they are no longer usable under conventional methods, thereby becoming disposable. This is the case with asbestos, a mineral used mostly in finishes, cement and insulation, which has been gradually banned around the world since the 1970s due to its toxicity. With the ambitious aim of making up for that waste, the Australian architecture studio Besley & Spresser, in collaboration with Asbeter and Benedetta Pompili Studio, reinterpreted asbestos as a byproduct that the studio describes as harmless and carbon-negative, with architectural potential. According to the studio, asbestos can be recrystallized to form new, human-safe products, and waste building materials that contain it can likewise be safely recycled into non-hazardous materials. The studio presented a test installation at the 2025 Lisbon Architecture Triennale as an example of "radical repair" and the rediscovery of urban materials.
In a different example of reuse, researchers at the Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture (KNUBA) are working with debris from war-damaged buildings. The solution under investigation combines this debris with industrial and agricultural waste to produce printable concrete suitable for additive manufacturing. The project, financed by the United States and international organizations, aims to add new options for large-scale housing reconstruction in the country. On another note, researchers from ETH Zurich and Empa are developing a new fire-resistant material made from sawdust. Sawdust is the powder, small grains and tiny wood chips produced while processing wood, most of which is burned to generate energy, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Combining sawdust with the mineral struvite, made possible by controlling the struvite's crystallization with an enzyme extracted from watermelon seeds, would turn the material into a new fire-resistant composite that is easy to recycle.
New Materials Developed as an Alternative to Concrete
At the other end of the spectrum, cement-bonded materials such as concrete are harder to break down for reuse. Cement accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions and is an essential component of concrete, a composite commonly criticized for its environmental impact. It is therefore not surprising that numerous research projects are turning their attention to finding alternatives to this widespread material. From recycling biological byproducts from sugarcane to using the underground root system of fungi, researchers are testing components to emulate concrete's moldability, strength, and mass-production capabilities. Material research studio Matter at Hand and ceramic manufacturer Darwen Terracotta are transforming clay into a fluid, concrete-like material by combining it with recycled aggregates, sand and natural fibers. The result is Poured Earth, a castable material that uses sodium silicate or tannins to increase fluidity without adding extra water.
Mexican research and production studio MANUFACTURA, which specializes in sustainable construction materials and digital fabrication, was named one of the 20 honorees of the ArchDaily 2026 Next Practices Awards for transforming waste into circular architectural materials using robotic 3D printing and creating biocomposites that draw on pre-Hispanic Mexican construction techniques. As an alternative to concrete, they propose Corncretl, a new material composed of limestone derivatives, corn, and recycled nejayote, a calcium-rich byproduct of the processing of dried corn in Mexico. Another initiative using organic components for concrete alternatives is being developed by Montana State University. Researchers are using mycelium, the underground root network of fungi, to design load-bearing materials. The challenging process of transforming living matter into a durable material is achieved by letting the mycelium act as a "scaffold" to which microorganisms adhere and harden through a process called calcification.
Effect-driven Material Research
Research can also be driven by a kind of magical effect: the ambition that a single new element can change the experience of an entire system. Researchers from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore, in collaboration with the ecology and biomimicry design firm bioSEA, are developing new tiles that cool buildings without consuming energy. The tiles are made from mycelium and bamboo shavings, combining the materials' insulating properties with a texture that mimics elephant skin, whose wrinkles and crevices help elephants regulate temperature. On a more magical note, researchers at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan are developing a plastic that dissolves in seawater. Intended to prevent microplastics from further harming ocean life, the new material is a supramolecular plastic composed of two ionic monomers that can be consumed by bacteria and are quickly destabilized by salt water.
Other material and sustainability-related initiatives are being developed worldwide. In New York, London and Brussels, city governments are transforming former industrial infrastructure into circular construction hubs: sites that collect, store and redistribute building materials and demolition waste so they can be reused or repurposed rather than sent to landfill. Architecture firm HENN recently launched CarbonBudget, a digital tool that calculates project-specific CO2 budgets for buildings. The tool is designed to calculate whether the emissions of a building project located in Europe are compatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target, based on specific inputs such as location and building area. A new open-air laboratory and research site dedicated to sustainable living and advanced architectural 3D printing recently opened in Italy. The site, called Shamballa, hosts research and development centers that form an experimental "ecosystem" for developing new ideas in bio-construction and sustainable living.
