Hybrid construction as a solution to mitigate climate and housing crises
About this episode
The episode discusses hybrid construction as a method to address climate and housing challenges in the EU.
The construction sector plays a central role in the EU’s climate objectives. Buildings account for a significant share of Europe’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while the embodied carbon of construction materials is gaining increasing attention in the EU. As Europe advances initiatives such as the European Affordable Housing Plan and the Circular Economy Act, questions are emerging about how construction practices can reduce emissions while remaining cost-effective, scalable and socially inclusive. Against this backdrop, hybrid construction is receiving growing interest as an approach that combines different building materials according to their respective strengths. Rather than viewing materials as competing alternatives, hybrid construction explores how they can complement one another to optimise structural performance, resource efficiency and lifecycle impacts. In practice, this can involve combining elements or integrating materials within a single component, for example by pairing concrete’s compressive strength with the properties of engineered wood products. Recent developments in offsite and industrialised construction have further expanded the…
People in this episode
Host: Euractiv's Advocacy Lab
Topics covered
- climate change
- housing crisis
- construction practices
- sustainable materials
- resource efficiency
- circular economy
Keywords
- hybrid construction
- climate objectives
- energy consumption
- greenhouse gas emissions
- sustainably sourced wood
- circular design
- offsite construction
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: EU, European Affordable Housing Plan, Circular Economy Act
Products: concrete, engineered wood products
More episodes of Euractiv Talks
- A conversation about building a competitive, low-carbon European economy
- A conversation about AI, energy and semiconductor innovation with Sundeep Bajikar, Applied Materials
- Energy poverty in Europe – How can EU social, housing and climate policies deliver a fair transition?
- Powering Europe's competitiveness: delivering clean energy and infrastructure for growth
- Europe’s competitiveness in emerging technologies – What is the role of standards, markets and quantum innovation?
- Industry Insights with Klaus Waechter, Vice-President, KNX Association
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Euractiv Talks podcast page.