Atomic Building Blocks of Global Buildings.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Urban Planning

Background:

• Buildings consume significant materials and natural resources, impacting the environment.
• Understanding building composition is crucial for developing circular economies and mitigating environmental effects.
• Knowledge of chemical composition supports urban mining for resource management and elemental recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify material use intensities (MUIs) and atomic use intensities (AUIs) of whole buildings globally.
• To determine the primary elemental composition of buildings worldwide.
• To assess the variability of building elemental composition across regions and typologies.

Main Methods:

• Estimation of MUIs (kg/m²) and AUIs (mol/m²) for 1028 whole buildings.
• Analysis of building composition across eight global regions.
• Comparison of elemental composition based on building typology.

Main Results:

• Buildings are predominantly composed of six elements: oxygen, calcium, silicon, carbon, iron, and aluminum.
• These six elements constitute approximately 97% of the total mass of buildings globally.
• Average AUIs of buildings show minimal variation across different global regions and building types.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a comprehensive dataset on the elemental composition of buildings.
• Findings support the advancement of urban mining and circular economy strategies in the construction sector.
• Consistent elemental makeup offers a foundation for resource recovery and sustainable building practices.