Carbon emissions and how to reduce them

As far as facts and figures are concerned, the construction industry as a whole is responsible for about 30% of the total carbon emission in the world.  Half of that can be assigned to construction products and materials.

Needless to say that it’s a big challenge to bring this level down, especially taking into account the ever growing population that requires housing.

That’s precisely why we have to look at all aspects of construction including the choice of materials, transport etc., but also to an alternative way of building and living. We will already gain a lot by extending the exploitation life of a building and by reducing the time needed to construct it.

In fact our innovative NxtGen modular construction system does both. Our compact steel and wooden structure as well as our releasable parts and components can be reused (often for the same purpose or else for other structural applications) at the end of the building’s lifecycle. Actually all our houses and buildings are designed for disassembly, meaning they can easily be taken apart again without any damages or loss of mechanical properties.

And by using prefabricated components and assemblies with simple fixtures we are also able to substantially reduce the construction time.

But it all starts with the concept, the selection of materials and their manufacturing process.

The following guidelines help a great deal in reducing the carbon footprint:

  • Design a concept for long-life and adaptability using durable, low maintenance
  • materials
  • Choose materials that can easily be separated, are easily available and that are
  • reusable (Reuse of building materials saves about 95% of embodied energy)
  • Use locally sourced materials and reduce transport to a minimum
  • Modify and refurbish instead of demolishing or adding
  • Avoid wasting material. (standardize parts, sizes and go for homogeneous materials)

At NxtGen Houses you will discover an impressive modular world, where the combination of technology, quality, style, sustainability and practicality results in advanced housing solutions that are a valid alternative to traditional buildings.