About this programme
To realise Aotearoa New Zealand’s zero-carbon aspirations, the industry needs to rethink its assumptions about what materials should be used in the built environment. This can be achieved by engaging with promising novel and more established biomaterials. These materials are derived from or produced by biological organisms like plants, animals, bacteria, fungi and other lifeforms. These are often low carbon, and most biomaterials such as hempcrete or mycelium-based biocomposites actually reduce carbon through absorption during their growth phase. This project seeks to determine the barriers and drivers to accelerate the use of these carbon-reducing biomaterials across the building system. It aims to identify points where intervention could help stimulate uptake and inform key regulators, innovators and early adopters. It also aims to catalogue scientific understanding of the key performance characteristics of different biomaterials and will examine how specific biomaterials engage with m?tauranga M?ori (M?ori knowledge). Led by Te Herenga Waka Te Kura Waihanga | Victoria University of Wellington School of Architecture, this project brings together researchers from Warren and Mahoney Architects and Te W?nanga Aronui o T?maki Makaurau | Auckland University of Technology. Research and interviews will inform the development of intervention-based experimental studies, which will then be tested with stakeholders and other participants. Based on the results, the team will prepare recommendations of possible interventions to help the system transition to using more biomaterials.