 Natural building, or making the most efficient use of natural and local products, is a conscious building process as old as the built environment itself. Mud and earth building may date back as long as 10,000 years, and other natural materials, such as straw and wood, were used efficiently hundreds of years ago. In the 21st century, with the additional aid of technology, humanity is now moving toward conscious sustainable building or green building, which would provide benefits for human health, natural environment, economic and community, as well as limiting or even preventing the waste of natural resources.
Worldwide, housing has an enormous impact on the environment. According to the US Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org), housing accounts for 17% of fresh water withdrawals, 25% wood harvests, 33% CO2 emissions, and 40% material and energy use (45% in China). To help reduce natural resource waste, the ICC (International Code Council) has produced such building standards as the International Energy Conservation Code, the most commonly adopted energy efficiency code worldwide, and the International Plumbing Code to ensure efficient use of water. Both the USGB and the ICC (International Code Council) provide standards and guidelines for both improved occupant health and productivity in both living and working environments. Efficient material management, or efficient processing of material left at the end of construction or renovation (commonly referred to as construction and demolition (C&D) materials), is a priority for green building. In the past, the leftover materials have been considered waste, and their disposal has been typical for the building process. However, up to 95 percent of the discarded materials can be recycled into new products or used in new ways to benefit both the construction business and the environment. 自然建築，亦即取用天然、當地的材料，以發揮建材最大功效的建築方法，非常具有環保意識，此種建築方法的發展，和建構居住環境的過程一樣久遠。應用土石作為建築材料，可以追溯到一萬年前，至於其他天然建材，例如稻草與木材，則在數百年前已有效地被使用。進入二十一世紀，在科技發展的協助下，人類轉而建造具有環保意識的永續建築或綠建築，這類型建築對人體的健康、自然環境、經濟和整體社會皆有益處，還能減少、甚至是預防自然資源的浪費。 興建住宅對全球的環境都產生巨大衝擊，根據美國綠建築委員會表示（其網址為www.usgbc.org），人類的住宅環境造成17％的淡水耗水量、25％的木材砍伐、33％的二氧化碳排放、40％的物料和能源使用（在中國大陸則是45％）。為了減少自然資源的浪費，國際建築規範委員會（ICC）發展出一套名為「國際節能規章」的建築標準，這是全球各地最常被採用的節能建築規範，至於「國際排水設施規章」則保障水資源的有效使用。無論是美國綠建築委員會或國際建築規範委員會，都提供了一些建築的標準規範，同時改善居住及工作環境的住民健康，並促進生產。 有效的建材管理，或是在建築物整修完成後妥善處理剩餘建材（通常指建築廢料─C&Dmaterials），其實是綠建築的首要重點。以往，剩下的建材往往被視為廢棄物，而廢棄材料的處理則是建築過程中典型的環節之一，然而，多達95％被丟棄的建材，都能再生製造為新材料或以新方法應用，這種做法能使建築業與整體環境都受益。 |
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