JAJA at Folkemødet: Can we grow the building materials of the future?

The construction industry is responsible for one third of global CO2 emissions. Therefore, we need to rethink how we build and live. But what would using biomaterials mean for Denmark’s land, construction industry, and homes? Could Danish agriculture play a direct role in new construction projects, and how crucial is it for architects and engineers to understand the CO2 emissions and value chains of these materials?

Last Friday we hosted a talk at Folkemødet in Realdania‘s tent to discuss the impact of construction on climate, nature, and resource scarcity crises, and explore how innovative building practices can integrate into new value chains. We were joined by ecological economist Jacob Rask and Caroline White from Glarbo & White. The discussion was be moderated by Mikkel Andreas Thomassen, partner and PhD at Smith Innovation, who specializes in construction transformation across value chains.

We kicked things off with a storyline that embraced the complexity of the topic, covering agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, and construction techniques. The discussion spanned various scales, from global perspectives on social sustainability to local building practices on Bornholm. Our contribution to the Danish ‘land use cabal’ was quickly raised to a ‘planetary area cabal’ using chunks of an apple as a visual aid. Not much of that apple remained at the end.

We rounded things off with the question: What is the first step to accelerate this transformation in the building materials landscape? Here’s what the panellists answered:

Jacob Rask: Support the rapidly re-emerging cooperative movement, owning and governing land, assets and production facilities in common. This will help distribute the risks associated with innovation.

Caroline White: Systematic efforts towards shared technical ownership of new bio-based products and updated regulations that support these new building practices.

Nielsine Otto: Developing a national strategy to foster necessary collaborations and cross-sectoral conversations. The construction industry needs to look beyond itself because we’re going to need each other. Simply switching to building in wood won’t work if it’s not accompanied by afforestation for example.

Images: Bjarke Ørsted