How models can make a difference for a sustainable future of the building industry

Models play a vital role in science and technology and in the evolution of modern societies. They are used for describing processes and mechanisms, experimental observations, analyses and predictions. In spite of the fact that models are a reduction of reality, the achievements of modern societies are impressive and would have been inconceivable without the role of models. These achievements can be qualified with one term: growth. The impressive growth in past decades, however, now appears to be unsustainable. In this contribution the above-mentioned dilemma is dealt with. First the evolution and use of models is discussed from a more general sustainability perspective. In the second part of the paper the application of models for sustainable solutions in the field of cementitious materials is emphasized.