When it comes to carbon emissions, there’s no bigger foe than the building and construction sectors, which contribute at least a third of global greenhouse gases.
When it comes to carbon emissions, there’s no bigger foe than the building and construction sectors, which contribute at least a third of global greenhouse gases.
A new project suggests a novel solution, albeit one still quite theoretical: Lava.
Over the past several months, the Volcanology Group at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, led by Lamont research professor Einat Lev, had the opportunity to collaborate with a team of architects selected to exhibit at the Venice Biennale. (Lamont is part of Columbia University’s Climate School.) The project, “Lavaforming,” conceived by s.ap architects, imagines a future in which lava flows—like those regularly occurring on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula—can be harnessed and shaped into sustainable building materials for entire cities.
Read More: Columbia Climate School
Lava erupting during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption. (Photo Credit: Einat Lev)
