Sustainable Approaches to Construction Materials
A Special Issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994) belonging to the section "F: Engineering and Materials".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 20
Editors
Interests: sustainability; life cycle assessment; construction materials; waste management; circular economy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The construction sector is one of the largest consumers of natural resources and a major contributor to energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste generation. Developing more sustainable construction materials is therefore essential to reducing the environmental footprint of buildings and infrastructure while maintaining performance, durability, and economic viability. In this context, resource efficiency, waste valorization, low-carbon technologies, and circular economy principles are becoming increasingly important for supporting the transition toward more sustainable construction systems.
Symmetry and asymmetry are central, though often overlooked, levers in this transition. At the microstructural level, the degree of order in a material's atomic/particle arrangement affects its stability, strength, and durability, impacting service life and resource efficiency. At the structural level, symmetric configurations minimize material consumption through balanced load distribution, while asymmetry can improve adaptability and lightweight performance with less material, supporting resource efficiency and resilient design. From this perspective, symmetry and asymmetry become practical tools for eco-design, directly reinforcing the goals of sustainability, resource efficiency, and reduced environmental impact.
“Sustainable Approaches to Construction Materials” aims to bring together recent advances in the development, characterization, assessment, and application of innovative and sustainable construction materials. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, low-carbon binders, alternative and recycled aggregates, alkali-activated and geopolymer materials, the valorization of industrial and mining by-products, bio-based materials, symmetry- and asymmetry-based approaches to material and structural eco-design, and innovative construction technologies. Contributions addressing life cycle assessment (LCA), circular economy strategies, environmental and techno-economic assessment, durability, eco-design, and resource efficiency are particularly welcome. This Special Issue seeks to provide a multidisciplinary platform for sharing innovative solutions that reduce the environmental footprint of construction materials while promoting resource-efficient, resilient, and circular construction practices.
We look forward to your valuable contributions.
Dr. Safaa Mabroum
Dr. Aiman Machi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- sustainable construction materials
- low-carbon materials
- waste valorization
- life cycle assessment (LCA)
- circular economy
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