Repeated calls for the decarbonization of architecture are sometimes met with criticisms as to their lack of substance, and in some cases, practicality or overall feasibility, Canada's National Observer tells us. 

The only mycelium binders on the market are, for example, unsuitable to certain weather conditions, according to Yale Center for Ecosystems and Architecture’s Mae-ling Lokko. Other products like composite wood materials can contain formaldehyde, which puts a damper on the new heights mass timber designs are reaching in Europe and North America. The current limitations of bio-concrete, hemp, and algae materials are also well-known. 

To enact a truly revolutionary turn, both additional investments into developing new alternative products and a better understanding of a building’s end-of-life recyclability are needed, Lokko and Naomi Keena of McGill University's School of Architecture told the paper.

Canada and its vast reserves of agricultural waste derived from applicable crops are therein used as a prime example of the opportunities that remain.

Read the full story here.