Many centuries ago, ancient civilizations would produce homes using cob—a mixture of clay-based subsoil with sand, straw, and water. Cob is absolutely a sustainable option for building, but one that doesn’t meet the contemporary standards of architecture. To bring cob up to date, British and French researchers created a new version of cob with an increased ability to trap heat by fusing two different grades of cob. The question is: why would we start building homes with cob if we already have a plethora of modern materials? The beauty of cob is that it can be produced from soil on site, presenting an opportunity to build more sustainably, with reduced carbon emissions and construction waste. On top of that, this new type of cob requires less heating than a traditional building. Considering that half of the EU’s energy consumption comes from heating and cooling homes, cob could be very useful in slashing energy usage. Now the scientists are planning to build homes using cob to see if the material is feasible on a larger scale.
How an ancient building material could help slash energy costs in Europe
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