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One of the main principles Marmaroph has is sustainability. Nowadays, we would need 1.75 planets (according to the world counts) to extract all the resources that we need to supply the demand, and unfortunately or fortunately, we only have one beautiful planet. That’s why we need to take BIG ACTIONS to save us and all the species on earth. All of the industries in the world pollute, ones more than others and that’s why ALL of the industries need to take action an reduce their environmental footprint. In this article, we will explain how Marmaroph is contributing to the environment in all of the project phases. Starting from the design and functioning, the use of materials, and the construction phase.
Marmaroph belongs to the construction industry and we are committed to the environment. That’s why we are well aware of the carbon footprint the construction sector has done to the environment. This footprint is done in all of the project’s phases starting with the manufacturing of the materials, then the functioning, and last the construction. In the first phase, the manufacturing of the materials emits greenhouse gases and other harmful substances into the atmosphere, it can also out at risk the manufacturing workers' health. Furthermore, to extract the raw materials for the construction, the environments are being destroyed. The second phase is about the functioning of a building and that is related to energy consumption, the use of resources, and waste. The following chart shows the impact.
Build Environment impact on the United States:
Nowadays, it’s impossible to have a 100% sustainable product because companies depend on others. For example, when we use transportation for our products, there is going to be a carbon footprint. So, we know that only our efforts aren’t enough and all the industries and companies around the world need to start taking action. In Marmaroph, we are concerned and started taking action, so we are committed to reducing drastically our environmental footprint. We aim to be part of a circular economy in which we use the materials coming from other industries and generate 0 waste as we recycle the remains in the construction process. It’s imperative and we need to change our minds and stop thinking that the things we don’t use are waste. Because thinking like this linear way will continue polluting landfills, oceans, air, and entire ecosystems, that also affect humans. So, we need to start thinking circularly just like nature. Nature doesn’t have waste as everything serves for other organisms. In this case, the materials that other industries don’t use anymore, Marmaroph uses them in our projects.
DESIGN & OPERATION PHASE
In the design and operation phase, we talk about everything related to energy consumption , the use of resources and waste. Nowadays, Buildings can consume up to 48% of the energy and emit co2 and other gases like CFCs form the cooling in the air conditioning. To reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency, we are designing passive strategies to reduce or eliminate the use of air conditioning (CFCs emissions) and heaters, depending on the climate. Some of the Passive Strategies we design with to Reduce Energy consumption and CFCS emissions are listed below.
BIOMIMICRY: the term means “the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes” which means that the design is inspired by nature and imitates it, to solve human design challenges according to the Biomimicry Institute. This way of designing improves efficiency in many ways and contributes “to find hope along the way”.
ORIENTATION: It means that the project is located according to the position of the Sun depending on the latitude, altitude and the climate. So, if the project needs more sun entrance to heat up the spaces or the other way around, to keep spaces fresh, we orient them.
THERMAL INSULATION: When we talk about insulation, we mean that the indoor temperature always stays constant and doesn’t vary in the same way the outdoor temperature. When the weather is very cold, we want to keep the spaces warm, so we can use a heater for a short period and the insulating materials won’t let the cold from the outside gets in and the heat from the inside won’t dissipate. Now, all of the materials on earth have different thermal properties. Some materials are better insulating temperatures than others because they have a better ratio of thermal inertia. Knowing this, we use the best insulating materials, we layer them and put them on a panel generating acoustic and thermal insulation. As a result, we can reduce energy consumption and guarantee comfort in the indoor spaces of our projects.
VENTILATION:
Ventilation is another passive strategy that uses airflow as a cooling or heating effect. Following that cold air is denser than the hot air, we use that principle in our favor. Depending on the climate, if we want to refresh an indoor space or the other way around, we direct the air circulation to refresh or heat a space.
DYNAMISM:
We design mechanisms to make architectural elements move like facades, so that we can reduce the energy use.
CLEANER SOURCES OF ENERGY: Also, in the functioning phase, we are using and promoting the use of energy coming from renewable resources that don't emit C02 into the atmosphere and other greenhouse gasses. So that’s why we use solar panels for energy for electricity and heating the water. All of the solar panels are included in our projects if our customer wants them or we encourage also to use other sources like wind.
WATER USAGE:
In architectural projects, there are mainly three types of water
Potable water: The filtered water available for human consumption
Grey Water: Wastewater with some toxins like water from the dishes, the shower, laundry, and some other uses.
Dark water: Wastewater coming from organic matter.
We collect rainwater for other uses that aren’t for human consumption. Also, to avoid the wastewater polluting other water resources, we implement filters to reuse the water and also to dispose of in water bodies without polluting.
MATERIAL PHASE:
Now we're going to talk about the material phase. The construction industry is the 10th more contaminating industry in the world and basically, it pollutes in 3 ways related to the materials. 1. The extraction of the raw materials, 2. the energy usage to transform in the manufacturing process to make these materials, and the 3. waste that goes to landfills (materials that are not biodegradable). Marmaroph it's well aware and wants to contribute to the diminishing of the environmental footprint the construction sector has done to the environment so that we can warranty sustainability for more future generations to come. That’s why nowadays we are using at least 50% of the materials coming from a renewable or recycled resource coming from other industries and our goal is to achieve 100%. Some of the sustainable materials we use are:
Wood and Recycled Wood: We use wood as a renewable resource coming from trees, it’s a good insulating material and gives beautiful finishes to the projects. But we don't want deforestation and we don't want that trees are cut at a higher speed than they can recover, so that's why we also use recycled wood. This recycled wood is treated and restored to have perfect finishes for the projects.
Recycled Cotton: Did you know that cotton is a very good insulating material and it comes from a renewable resource? However, the production of cotton requires a lot of water and transportation, leaving a huge environmental footprint. That's why the fashion industry is the 2nd most contaminating industry in the world. Because of this, Marmaroph has decided to use the remains of the cotton of the fashion industry to create thermal and acoustic insulation inside our Panels, replacing the rock wool and glass wool that is traditionally used in construction. As these materials are highly polluting the environment because by extracting the resources to get the raw materials, environments are harmed. Also, the manufacturing process emits greenhouse gases and harms the workers’ health.
Recycled plastic: Plastic coming from inorganic sources like petroleum has been a very good material that changed the industry, as it is cheap and very efficient material. However, traditional plastic it's a very contaminating material because its non-biodegradable, it requires at least more than a 100 years for the plastics to biodegrade and it's creating a huge environmental problem because plastics end up on landfills, water bodies like lakes, oceans, rivers among others and species from some of these environments end up eating the plastics or microplastics (that form when the plastic starts to degrade). When species like fishes, birds, marine creatures, and others eat these plastics, they think they are full, so they stop eating until they die from starvation. When we as humans eat those species, we are also consuming these microplastics causing some health problems. That’s why Marmaroph uses recycled plastic for waterproof materials, like roofs and in our panels, so we avoid that inorganic plastics form packages of one single-use, end up in rivers, landfills, and other environments.
We keep searching for new materials and techniques to have more sustainable materials on our projects.
THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE:
Nowadays, water usage in cement production for construction varies from 147 to 3,500 litres per tonne of cement. Concrete production uses between 100 and 240 litres of water per cubic metre of concrete. according to Stella Bezerra from the University of Guelph. In our modular architecture line, we don’t use water during the construction because we have a dry building system as we use steel for the structure and other recycled or coming from renewable resources materials for the finishes.
On the other hand, we don’t have waste during construction. In normal traditional construction, when materials don’t fit, the excess ends up in landfills but also when people want to remodel, the walls are torn apart, and the excess can’t be used and also ends up in landfills. We want to avoid this problem in both new and old constructions that want to be reconstructed. So, we designed panels that can be easily taken and move into other spaces or projects and if our customers simply don’t want them, they can return to Marmaroph and we restore them and reuse them. Finally, 90% of the waste, we have we reused it in home décor and furniture, or we sell to other industries the waste, so we don’t have waste going to landfills.
Want to become a hero for the Planet? Remember we all have the power to change things for the better! Marmaroph is here to guide you and help you become a hero! Marmaroph is contributing but you you as an individual can contribute as well, to diminish your environmental footprint by changing your mind and start thinking circular not linear. So, start by not discarding what you don't want and think about other uses the product can have. For example, start composting and use that compost at your home for your plants or donate your clothes. You might be surprised how many uses you can find, you just need to let your creativity flow! Also, by supporting the businesses that are committed to the environment, so learn more about their processes and suggest to change their ways. If you stop buying from companies that are not implementing sustainable actions and start buying from other companies that do, these companies will be forced to be sustainable to be competitive. As a result, all living things on earth will be benefited. All companies around the world should be sustainable to be able to become 100 % sustainable. Marmaroph is committed to the environment, so when you buy Marmaroph, you are already becoming a Hero but you can also do daily actions to contribute on your own! Become part of our community and read our other articles to learn more about how Marmaroph contributes to the environment and other design topics!
We encourage you to learn more and contribute to the benefit of all the living organisms on earth, including you!
We would love if you take some of your precious time and leave us responses to the questions !
We keep investigating and learning more about our customers and users lifestyle, in order to design spaces that truly adapt to people. That is why we would like to know more about you!
What is the most important thing for you in sustainable architecture ?
What things you do everyday to diminish your environmental footprint?
What other renewable or recycled materials you know for construction ?
What ideas 💡do you imagine to reduce the environmental footprint ?
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