The construction sector significantly contributes to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. For instance, residential buildings account for 27% of global energy consumption and 17% of CO2 emissions. Currently, construction materials are responsible for 23% of human-generated GHG emissions, with more than half of these emissions originating from the production of cement and steel, making it a substantial contributor to climate change. For example, the cement manufacturing process alone produces approximately 2.5 billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for 8% of the total global emissions. In Europe, the cement industry contributes to 38.5% of the total industrial CO2 emissions. To mitigate the environmental impact of the construction industry, new materials have been proposed, such as low-carbon cement and carbon concrete composites. In this context, bio-based materials derived from renewable biological resources like crops, microbial biomass, wood, and waste hold significant potential for reducing the environmental impact of buildings . Bio-based materials encompass both traditional materials like wood and innovative materials like rice waste and fungi. Research has demonstrated that these materials possess favourable properties that justify their practical implementation in construction, such as the use of fungi to create fully functional partition walls in modern buildings. The construction industry is recognized as being slow in adopting innovation due to various barriers. The fragmented and risk-averse nature of the industry is a major obstacle to its improvement in this regard. Furthermore, the inclination of stakeholders to prefer the status quo often leads to the use of familiar and commonly used materials, favoured due to existing norms, institutions, and knowledge transfer practices from one project to another. Recent studies have explored ways to facilitate an industry-wide transition toward more sustainable solutions, such as circular economy approaches, as well as the exploration of new materials like bamboo. Yet gaps remain, particularly in understanding how decision-making, and ecosystem-level coordination interact to shape the adoption of bio-based materials. This dissertation addresses these gaps by investigating the drivers and barriers to the diffusion of bio-based materials, through a multi-level research design. The work focuses on three material cases at different stages of maturity, wood (mature), hemp (early-stage), and mycelium (experimental), and develops targeted interventions to support their adoption. Methodologically, the research combines expert interviews, system dynamics modelling, serious game design, and design science research. These approaches are used to analyse current adoption bottlenecks and to actively prototype and test targeted tools for overcoming them. The findings demonstrate that adoption is shaped by complex interdependencies between perception, infrastructure, regulation, and market logic. At the professional level, the lack of material knowledge act as primary barrier, which was addressed through the development and evaluation of a serious game aimed at professionals. At the organisational level, the absence of viable and coordinated business models limits the feasibility of adoption, a gap addressed through a strategic roadmap for ecosystem alignment around hemp. Finally, the role of perception and symbolic legitimacy was explored through the design and public installation of a full-scale mycelium pavilion, revealing that immersive material experiences can shift attitudes and behavioural intentions. Hence, this interdisciplinary dissertation, combining strategic, behavioural, and design-based interventions, contributes to a more holistic understanding of material innovation in the built environment. It offers new insight into how architectural, managerial, and systemic tools can be aligned to support a broader, more inclusive adoption of sustainable materials, reframing bio-based diffusion not as a purely technical challenge, but as a question of coordination and cultural transformation.
Il settore delle costruzioni contribuisce in modo significativo al rilascio di gas serra nell’atmosfera. Ad esempio, gli edifici residenziali rappresentano il 27% del consumo energetico globale e il 17% delle emissioni di CO₂. Attualmente, i materiali da costruzione sono responsabili del 23% delle emissioni di gas serra generate dall’uomo, con oltre la metà di queste emissioni provenienti dalla produzione di cemento e acciaio, rendendo il settore un contributore rilevante al cambiamento climatico. Ad esempio, il solo processo di produzione del cemento genera circa 2,5 miliardi di tonnellate di CO₂ all’anno, pari all’8% delle emissioni globali totali. In Europa, l’industria del cemento contribuisce al 38,5% delle emissioni industriali totali di CO₂. Per mitigare l’impatto ambientale dell’industria delle costruzioni, sono stati proposti nuovi materiali, come il cemento a basse emissioni di carbonio e i compositi in calcestruzzo carbonico. In questo contesto, i materiali bio-based derivati da risorse biologiche rinnovabili come colture agricole, biomassa microbica, legno e scarti organici presentano un grande potenziale per ridurre l’impatto ambientale degli edifici. I materiali bio-based comprendono sia materiali tradizionali come il legno sia materiali innovativi come i residui di riso e i funghi. La ricerca ha dimostrato che questi materiali possiedono proprietà favorevoli che ne giustificano l’implementazione pratica nel settore delle costruzioni, come nel caso dell’utilizzo dei funghi per creare pareti divisorie completamente funzionali negli edifici moderni. L’industria delle costruzioni è riconosciuta come un settore lento nell’adozione dell’innovazione a causa di diverse barriere. La natura frammentata e avversa al rischio del settore rappresenta un ostacolo significativo al suo miglioramento sotto questo aspetto. Inoltre, la tendenza degli stakeholder a preferire lo status quo porta spesso all’utilizzo di materiali familiari e comunemente impiegati, favoriti dalle norme esistenti, dalle istituzioni e dalle pratiche di trasferimento della conoscenza da un progetto all’altro. Studi recenti hanno esplorato modalità per facilitare una transizione dell’intero settore verso soluzioni più sostenibili, come approcci basati sull’economia circolare, nonché l’esplorazione di nuovi materiali come il bambù. Tuttavia, persistono ancora lacune, in particolare nella comprensione di come i processi decisionali e il coordinamento a livello di ecosistema interagiscano nel determinare l’adozione dei materiali bio-based. Questa tesi affronta tali lacune indagando i fattori abilitanti e le barriere alla diffusione dei materiali bio-based attraverso un disegno di ricerca multilivello. Il lavoro si concentra su tre casi di materiali a diversi stadi di maturità: il legno (maturo), la canapa (fase iniziale) e il micelio (sperimentale), sviluppando interventi mirati per supportarne l’adozione. Dal punto di vista metodologico, la ricerca combina interviste a esperti, modellazione con system dynamics, progettazione di serious game e design science research. Questi approcci vengono utilizzati per analizzare gli attuali colli di bottiglia nell’adozione e per prototipare e testare attivamente strumenti mirati al loro superamento. I risultati dimostrano che l’adozione è influenzata da complesse interdipendenze tra percezione, infrastrutture, regolamentazione e logiche di mercato. A livello professionale, la mancanza di conoscenza dei materiali rappresenta una barriera primaria, affrontata attraverso lo sviluppo e la valutazione di un serious game rivolto ai professionisti. A livello organizzativo, l’assenza di modelli di business sostenibili e coordinati limita la fattibilità dell’adozione, una lacuna affrontata attraverso una roadmap strategica per l’allineamento dell’ecosistema attorno alla canapa. Infine, il ruolo della percezione e della legittimazione simbolica è stato esplorato attraverso la progettazione e l’installazione pubblica di un padiglione in micelio in scala reale, rivelando che esperienze materiali immersive possono modificare atteggiamenti e intenzioni comportamentali. Pertanto, questa tesi interdisciplinare, che combina interventi strategici, comportamentali e basati sul design, contribuisce a una comprensione più olistica dell’innovazione dei materiali nell’ambiente costruito. Essa offre nuove prospettive su come strumenti architettonici, manageriali e sistemici possano essere allineati per supportare un’adozione più ampia e inclusiva di materiali sostenibili, reinterpretando la diffusione dei materiali bio-based non come una sfida puramente tecnica, ma come una questione di coordinamento e trasformazione culturale.
Towards a wider diffusion of bio-based materials in the construction industry: a multi-level approach and supporting tools
Salierno, Roberta
2025/2026
Abstract
The construction sector significantly contributes to the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. For instance, residential buildings account for 27% of global energy consumption and 17% of CO2 emissions. Currently, construction materials are responsible for 23% of human-generated GHG emissions, with more than half of these emissions originating from the production of cement and steel, making it a substantial contributor to climate change. For example, the cement manufacturing process alone produces approximately 2.5 billion tons of CO2 annually, accounting for 8% of the total global emissions. In Europe, the cement industry contributes to 38.5% of the total industrial CO2 emissions. To mitigate the environmental impact of the construction industry, new materials have been proposed, such as low-carbon cement and carbon concrete composites. In this context, bio-based materials derived from renewable biological resources like crops, microbial biomass, wood, and waste hold significant potential for reducing the environmental impact of buildings . Bio-based materials encompass both traditional materials like wood and innovative materials like rice waste and fungi. Research has demonstrated that these materials possess favourable properties that justify their practical implementation in construction, such as the use of fungi to create fully functional partition walls in modern buildings. The construction industry is recognized as being slow in adopting innovation due to various barriers. The fragmented and risk-averse nature of the industry is a major obstacle to its improvement in this regard. Furthermore, the inclination of stakeholders to prefer the status quo often leads to the use of familiar and commonly used materials, favoured due to existing norms, institutions, and knowledge transfer practices from one project to another. Recent studies have explored ways to facilitate an industry-wide transition toward more sustainable solutions, such as circular economy approaches, as well as the exploration of new materials like bamboo. Yet gaps remain, particularly in understanding how decision-making, and ecosystem-level coordination interact to shape the adoption of bio-based materials. This dissertation addresses these gaps by investigating the drivers and barriers to the diffusion of bio-based materials, through a multi-level research design. The work focuses on three material cases at different stages of maturity, wood (mature), hemp (early-stage), and mycelium (experimental), and develops targeted interventions to support their adoption. Methodologically, the research combines expert interviews, system dynamics modelling, serious game design, and design science research. These approaches are used to analyse current adoption bottlenecks and to actively prototype and test targeted tools for overcoming them. The findings demonstrate that adoption is shaped by complex interdependencies between perception, infrastructure, regulation, and market logic. At the professional level, the lack of material knowledge act as primary barrier, which was addressed through the development and evaluation of a serious game aimed at professionals. At the organisational level, the absence of viable and coordinated business models limits the feasibility of adoption, a gap addressed through a strategic roadmap for ecosystem alignment around hemp. Finally, the role of perception and symbolic legitimacy was explored through the design and public installation of a full-scale mycelium pavilion, revealing that immersive material experiences can shift attitudes and behavioural intentions. Hence, this interdisciplinary dissertation, combining strategic, behavioural, and design-based interventions, contributes to a more holistic understanding of material innovation in the built environment. It offers new insight into how architectural, managerial, and systemic tools can be aligned to support a broader, more inclusive adoption of sustainable materials, reframing bio-based diffusion not as a purely technical challenge, but as a question of coordination and cultural transformation.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Thesis_RS.pdf
non accessibile
Dimensione
35.68 MB
Formato
Adobe PDF
|
35.68 MB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
I documenti in POLITesi sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
https://hdl.handle.net/10589/254637