Ecosystem

Materials · the documented reference for your low-carbon projects

Each entry states what the material is, how it is installed, what its measured performance is and what becomes of it at end of life. The data comes from the producers' technical data sheets and from our database; none of it is estimated.

The library

Twenty materials, arranged by building layer: what carries the load, what separates inside from outside, what divides up the space, what you see and touch. Filter by layer to see only what applies to your work package.

Float glass sheets stacked on edge, showing the green tint of the edges

Low-carbon glazing

Float glass with a high recycled cullet content. AGC · Seingbouse.

Close-up of Recuperazzo terrazzo, recycled aggregates in the light binder

Recycled terrazzo

Recycled concrete and brick aggregates. Alchimie des matières · Wallonia.

Boards of BamWood Caramel lacquered engineered bamboo flooring (BambooTouch / Ootouch), tightly framed on three joined boards in a caramel shade (densified bamboo)

Bamboo flooring

Compressed bamboo flooring, BamWood® (Ootouch · China)

Hand resting on a wall of compressed earth blocks, showing the texture, bond and true colour of the unfired earth

Compressed earth block

Compressed urban excavation loam, unfired. BC Materials · Brussels.

Close-up of the face and edge of a CLT BOX element during slinging, with spruce lamellas, grain and the true colour of the solid timber, and the worker's hands in frame

CLT Box floor slab

Structural CLT box (Best Wood Schneider).

Close-up of a Claystone natural-stone-effect finish (Matonge site, Brussels), with trowel ridges, smoothed areas and pulled-out patches, in a sand/taupe shade under raking light.

Decorative clay plaster

Clay, dolomite and sedimentary rock. ClayLime.

Full-frame close-up of recycled cork granules

Collected and crushed corks. De Vlaspit · Belgium.

Ecoschelp shells in the chute of the blowing machine, with the whole shells clearly visible

Whole shells, 15-35mm · biobased insulating sub-base (λ=0.106)

Dry hemp-lime mix held in both hands, against a soft neutral background

Loose-fill hemp-lime

Pre-dried hemp shiv and lime. Exie · East Flanders.

Close-up at floor level of Marmoleum tiles laid in a two-colour pattern, showing true colour, matt finish and grain

Linoleum flooring

Linseed oil, wood flour and jute. Forbo · the Netherlands.

Macro close-up of the grass fibre: grain, strand length and true colour (golden/straw)

Grass insulation

Grass clippings and recycled jute. Gramitherm · Auvelais.

Cutting detail, a circular saw blade passing through a HONEXT board, with the core of the material visible in the kerf

Paper fibre board

Paper mill sludge and recycled paper, resin-free. Honext · Barcelona.

Close-up of two hemp blocks laid at the corner of a top course, with the crisp arris, the block thickness and its grain clearly legible (site at Annezin)

Hemp shiv and lime, cold-set. Isohemp · Wallonia.

Close-up section through the floor build-up, gravel sub-base, insulation board, then the Lithotherm panel with its tongue-and-groove joint · the grain of the lava concrete in close-up

Dry mineral screed

Dry mineral screed (granite/lava/limestone). Lithotherm · Germany.

Dall'R30B - reclaimed raised access floor panel, high-density particleboard core, corner and edge exposed, laid on concrete (neutral grey background)

Reclaimed raised floor

Reconditioned raised access floor (wood core + sheet steel). Mobius · Brussels.

Recoma PackWall Design board, studio shot on a neutral background: the characteristic multicoloured speckle (flakes of plastic and aluminium from the food cartons) and the laminated edge are sharp and legible even as a thumbnail. © Recoma AB

Tetra Pak finishing board

Recycled Tetra Pak cartons, melted down (Recoma · Sweden).

Sample of a Clayton block on a worktop, with recycled demolition aggregates (red brick, terracotta, stone) clearly visible

Loadbearing recycled-aggregate block

Loadbearing block in Belgian recycled aggregates + low-carbon cement. Roosens · Familleureux.

Unilit natural lime finishing coat on brick masonry, off-white with a slight grey tint: a section of wall framed tight and head-on, with no sky or openings (private house in Wingene-Zwevezele)

Natural hydraulic lime and aggregates. Arte Constructo · Belgium.

Close-up of the insulated facade, with the grain and true colour of the compressed straw, the joints between boards and the fixing washers

Straw facade insulation

Rigid straw fibre, external wall insulation. Vestaeco · Poland.

Wood Tube studs stacked and seen end-on, showing the cellular structure of the recycled paper tubes

Paper partition stud

Tubular studs in recycled paper (Wood Tube · Sweden).