Innovative Approaches in Construction: Between Circular Economy and Industrial Symbiosis

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed academic journal, indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science), Scopus and other notable databases, with an Impact Factor of 3.9 (2022); its Five-Year Impact Factor is 4.0 (2022).

This Special Issue aims to delve into the challenges faced by the construction industry—once considered to be an obsolete sector but now showing signs of revival— in the 21^st century. It is generally acknowledged that compared to other industrial sectors such as military or pharmaceutics, the construction domain has remained underdeveloped despite substantial economic and experimental activities. The construction industry’s unsustainable ways of using non-renewable raw materials and high energy consumption, which generates enormous greenhouse gas and waste volumes, have also been matters of grave concern. Thus, research and development of innovative materials, components and systems are a priority for several public and private stakeholders who make considerable investments in this sector.

The endless possibilities to choose among numerous products with advanced features in all stages of construction significantly affects the process of materials manufacturing, the subsequent design of single components or entire buildings, as well as the global perceptive of the whole built environment. Hence, there is a dire need to develop alternative materials and cost-effective manufacturing processes that can replace the unsustainable modes of construction, particularly in developing countries.

The enormous waste and by-products generated by the construction industry may be recycled and valorized, which will limit their treatment and disposal and thereby alleviate the several environmental and public health concerns they pose. Therefore, a cost-effective way to transform, valorize and reuse these raw materials must be found, which is a compelling challenge, to improve the circular economy and the global market.

How can the scientific community improve the features of construction materials whilst taking into account the aspects of sustainability? What methodologies and systems may be put into place to facilitate more efficient waste management? How can the professional world contribute towards sustainable construction with effective intelligent responses, energy-efficient systems and improved performance? Which maintenance strategies may be employed for competitive life-cycle assessment? How can marketing provide an active pulse to novel technologies’ diffusion and application?

These are some of the questions that this Special Issue seeks to address.

Dr. Manfredi Saeli
Guest Editor

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• sustainable materials, methods, processes
• waste management and circular economy
• adaptable, intelligent and smart materials, responsive environments
• interactive structures and building skins
• energy and performance modelling, structural analysis
• maintenance and management strategies