Building material
Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many man-made products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. The manufacturing of building materials is an established industry in many countries and the use of these materials is typically segmented into specific specialty trades, such as carpentry, insulation, plumbing, and roofing work. They provide the make-up of habitats and structures including homes.[1]
For other kinds of building materials, see Household hardware, Biology, and Star formation.Living building materials[edit]
A relatively new category of building materials, living building materials are materials that are either composed of, or created by a living organism; or materials that behave in a manner that's reminiscent of such. Potential use cases include self-healing materials, and materials that replicate (reproduce) rather than be manufactured.
Building products[edit]
In the market place, the term "building products" often refers to ready-made particles or sections made from various materials, that are fitted in architectural hardware and decorative hardware parts of a building. The list of building products excludes the building materials used to construct the building architecture and supporting fixtures, like windows, doors, cabinets, millwork components, etc. Building products, rather, support and make building materials work in a modular fashion.
"Building products" may also refer to items used to put such hardware together, such as caulking, glues, paint, and anything else bought for the purpose of constructing a building.
Research and development[edit]
To facilitate and optimize the use of new materials and up-to-date technologies, ongoing research is being undertaken to improve efficiency, productivity and competitiveness in world markets.
Material research and development may be commercial, academical or both, and can be conducted at any scale. An example of a building material prototyping facility is the open source Forty Walls House in Australia, where up to 40 new sustainable materials are being rapidly prototyped and tested simultaneously in a building that is permanently occupied and monitored.[27]
Rapid prototyping allows researchers to develop and test materials quickly, making adjustments and solving issues during the process. Rather than developing materials theoretically and then testing them, only to discover fundamental flaws, rapid prototypes allow for comparatively quick development and testing, shortening the time to market for a new materials to a matter of months, rather than years.[28]