Architect proposes using unexpected material to rapidly build cities: 'The force that rethinks and shapes a new future'

A city might rise in weeks instead of decades.

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An Icelandic architect has proposed using a unique building material that comes from an unexpected source.

According to EuroNews, Arnhildur Pálmadóttir will be presenting her lavaforming project at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2025. In it, she proposes using the lava flow from Iceland's myriad volcanoes as a potential building resource.

She sees the project as a "proposal on how the brutal force of lava can be turned into a valuable resource, capable of lowering atmospheric emissions through its future use as a sustainable building material."

While Iceland's lava flows have long been perceived primarily as a threat to communities and homes, Pálmadóttir's goal is to show that they can have benefits as well.

"A lava flow can contain enough building material for the foundations of an entire city to rise in a matter of weeks without harmful mining and non-renewable energy generation," she said. "The theme is both a proposal and a metaphor — architecture is in a paradigm shift, and many of our current methods have been deemed obsolete or harmful in the long term. In our current predicament we need to be bold, think in new ways, look at challenges, and find the right resources."

True to Pálmadóttir's argument, finding more sustainable ways of building is a worthwhile pursuit. The cement industry accounts for about 8% of the world's carbon emissions, making it a larger contributor than even the aviation industry.

As we move toward a greener future and continue to seek ways to reduce our carbon footprint, people across the globe are continually innovating ways to make construction more sustainable.

For example, scientists in Australia have found a way to replace 80% of the cement in concrete with coal fly ash to create a potential carbon-sequestering material. MIT researchers have developed a glass Lego-like brick that is efficiently created and easily recycled. And the University of Tokyo has discovered a process to create new, carbon-neutral building materials out of old concrete blocks that can be endlessly recreated.

While Pálmadóttir's process and project are still purely theoretical, she hopes to show that lavaforming "can be the force that rethinks and shapes a new future with sustainability, innovation and creative thinking."

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