ICBMM 2019| 2019 3rd International Conference on Building Materials and Materials Engineering

Prof. Carlos Chastre

NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal

Carlos Chastre received his Ph.D. degree in Civil Engineering / Structures from NOVA NOVA University of Lisbon and also holds a M.Sc. degree in Structural Engineering and a B.Eng in Civil Engineering from Technical NOVA University of Lisbon. After working in industry for 8 years, he joined the Department of Civil Engineering at NOVA NOVA University of Lisbon as a Teaching Assistant in 1997, and was promoted to Assistant Professor in 2005. He has been a professor in charge of courses of Statics, Strength of Materials II, Reinforced Concrete I and II, Structural and Geotechnics Subjects, Design of Structures, Structural Design and Strengthening & Repair of Structures. He has authored more than 100 publications and has supervised to completion 21 master students, 4 PhD students, and 2 Postdoc researchers. He has won the BES National Award for Innovation in the area of New Materials and Industrial Technologies in 2009.

Assoc. Prof. Paulo Mendonça

University of Minho, Portugal

Paulo Mendonça was born in Porto in 10th June. PhD in Civil Engineering by the University of Minho, with the thesis: “Living under a second skin”, acclaimed by unanimity (2005). As a PhD fellowship of FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) he got the “Advanced Studies Diploma” in Barcelona on the Technical Superior School of Architecture (ETSAB). He is Associate Professor in the Architecture School of the University of Minho, Portugal (EAUM). President of EAUM (2011-2012) and Vice-President (2010-2011). Architectural Graduate and Integrated Master Studies Director (2005-2009). He is an author of more than one hundred publications. The main research subjects includes lightweight and mixed weight buildings, low cost housing, local and global economic asymmetries, low-tech strategies, energy costs and sustainable development, new materials and technologies, recycling and reusing potentialities.

Speech Title: The importance of the Local Materials and Technologies in the Eco-design of Buildings
Abstract: The environmental conscious design of a building requires considering all the life-cycle stages: materials production, construction, use and end-of-life. The stages of materials production and end-of-life are the ones that generally receive less attention in the architectural design process. The production of the most common conventional materials in developed countries, such as brick and cement, involve industrialized processes that require large amounts of energy and other environmental impacts. These materials are generally assembled in composites and building technologies with a complex life cycle, presenting high embodied energy and pollutant emissions, in detriment to existing alternatives of natural and less processed materials, that characterize vernacular building technologies in undeveloped economies. The maximum use of local and poorly processed materials, as well as local technologies implies a reduction in environmental impacts, but not necessarily associated with an increase in the economic cost of construction. In fact, industrialized countries, with the most advanced and energy efficient technologies available, as well as the scientific knowledge, produce buildings that can be much more energy efficient in the use stage, but also much more expensive and less environmentally efficient in the materials and building technologies involved in their construction stage, and thus less efficient considering the entire life-cycle scenario. Improvements can be achieved by minimizing the use of materials, by reusing, recycling and even reducing the overall weight of the building and lower impacts resulting from the extraction of raw materials, production processes, as well as a proportional reduction of the losses and energy associated with transportation. However, another principle of future action can be a drastic reduction in the use of industrialized materials. This presentation discusses the importance of selecting the appropriate local materials and building technologies, less industrialized, in order to allow eco-efficient choices for architectural design. Some case studies related with researches that are being developed in the University of Minho are presented and discussed in order to illustrate these principles.