Building materials alternative approaches: A bibliometric and review approach

Abstract

In this paper we develop a global vision of environmental impact with alternative building materials in architectural design. A bibliometric study is based on 1827 scientific research publications on alternative materials produced between 1998 and 2022. More than 90% of these documents have been published in the last ten years. This bibliometric study goal is to develop a systemic approach for the characterisation of alternative solution in the context of scarce resources context and climate change. This study highlights three different approaches: 1) an ‘integrative’ approach that develops an implementation approach combining environmental concerns and design teams’ own working methods in the selection of materials; 2) an ‘additive’ approach that selects some environmental criteria (carbon footprint and energy consumption) in addition to implementation issues; 3) a ‘subtractive’ approach that focuses solely on implementation issues.