Engineering

How to design materials with reprogrammable shape and function

Metamaterials—materials whose function is determined by structure, not composition—have been designed to bend light and sound, transform from soft to stiff, and even dampen seismic waves from earthquakes. But each of ...

Engineering

Climate-friendly renovations using straw and hemp

Renovating buildings to improve their energy efficiency is a crucial step towards Switzerland achieving its climate targets. ETH Zurich researchers can now reveal the most effective renovation strategies for reducing greenhouse ...

Energy & Green Tech

What will it take for China to reach carbon neutrality by 2060?

To become carbon neutral by 2060, as mandated by President Xi Jinping, China will have to build eight to 10 times more wind and solar power installations than currently exist in the country. Reaching carbon neutrality will ...

Engineering

How wood is making a comeback in construction

We've been using wood to build things for a very long time. According to the recently discovered remains of a half-a-million-year-old wooden structure in Africa, we've been building with wood before we were even fully human. ...

Robotics

Autonomous excavator constructs a 6-meter-high dry-stone wall

ETH Zurich researchers deployed an autonomous excavator, called HEAP, to build a 6-meter-high and 65-meter-long dry-stone wall. The wall is embedded in a digitally planned and autonomously excavated landscape and park.

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Building

In architecture, construction, engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following:

In this article, the first usage is generally intended unless otherwise specified.

Buildings come in a wide amount of shapes and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons.

Buildings serve several needs of society - primarily as shelter from weather and as general living space, to provide privacy, to store belongings and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat into the inside (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasess of artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become part of the design process of many new buildings.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA