More homes, better homes: tackling the global housing challenge

Take a global housing shortage that is set to impact 1.6 billion people by 2025. Add to that housing costs that are outpacing income growth. Throw in extreme climate events, and what we have is a global housing crisis. The solution? Concerted efforts from architects, construction experts, urban planners, and policymakers worldwide to not only increase the size but also improve the quality of our housing stock.

• Permanence used to be the ultimate goal in home architecture. Not anymore! Reversible construction, a flexible design that can convert offices into homes with minimal costs and adjustments, and modular housing, which involves factory-designed homes assembled on-site, are becoming increasingly popular. These are just two examples of a growing number of transformative approaches aimed at enhancing the comfort, resilience, and adaptability of housing.
• Fueling this momentum, the next generation of architects is emerging with bold new ideas, as demonstrated by the annual Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest. This year, ????? secured first place with an ingenious solution for a revitalization project in Lisbon. Explore the winning projects and the vital contributions architects can make to sustainable construction.
• While the structure can make a significant difference, so can materials, as they directly impact the quality and resilience of housing. Lightweight construction is gaining momentum worldwide, emerging as a sustainable and affordable solution to climate and geographical challenges. By using timber, concrete, or metal structures combined with non-load-bearing fa?ade and partition systems, lightweight construction reduces embedded carbon and raw materials by half. Additionally, its high adaptability makes it a revolutionary approach to providing improved homes for everyone!
• Zooming in even further, all the way to the molecular level, construction chemicals play a significant role in constructing safer and more comfortable homes. Saint-Gobain is at the forefront of this field, offering high-performance solutions for bonding, sealing, waterproofing, and reinforcing structures. Discover how Saint-Gobain is pioneering advancements in this area.
• Architectural design, construction materials, and chemical components are just a few of the areas we need to focus on to meet the staggering pace of building 96,000 homes each day. This pace is necessary to accommodate the additional 3 billion people who will require adequate housing by 2030. Let's get to work!

Innovation station

Trees capture carbon… But did you know concrete blocks can, too?

• Responsible for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, cement weighs considerably on the carbon footprint of concrete structures. Yet it long seemed irreplaceable.
• Enter Canadian company CarbiCrete , and its new, revolutionary solution: a fully cementless concrete block. The idea? Replacing cement with steel slag and using a patented CO2 curing process. At the 2023 ChangeNOW summit, Carbicrete (invited by Saint-Gobain’s Joint-Venture Nova), and POINT.P - SGDB France unveiled a cooperation agreement to bring this pioneering technology to the French market – a significant step towards decarbonizing construction!

Window to the future

Introducing “Constructing a sustainable future”, the first online magazine dedicated entirely to sustainable construction!

• As part of our "Sustainable Construction Observatory," this brand-new, one-stop digital hub not only offers information but also serves as a collaborative platform for architects, urban planners, builders, thought leaders, and more.
• Explore a wide range of content, including articles, interviews, podcasts, and slideshows, and join us on our mission to accelerate the construction industry's transition towards sustainability.

Can you guess?

Hurricanes, storms, and heatwaves... As climate events multiply, discover some of the solutions developed by Saint-Gobain!

• In Qatar, where scorching summer temperatures can reach up to 50°C / 122°F, there is extreme pressure on towers, apartment blocks, and villas. The solution? Building materials with exceptional physical properties.
• It's not just extreme heat that our buildings must contend with. Areas like the Gulf of Mexico or the U.S. Atlantic Coast face a constant threat of storms, requiring hurricane-resistant roofing, as well as protection from damaging hail. Saint-Gobain’s U.S.-based subsidiary, CertainTeed , has developed roofing solutions, which provide year-round protection against all types of weather.
• Heavy rainfall also poses a challenge to the integrity of buildings. In India, with the monsoon season fast approaching, it is crucial for fa?ade claddings to be perfectly watertight. Take a look at the locally available solutions offered by Saint-Gobain Weber India .

?

Pioneers

Something that is 100% recyclable shouldn’t end up in landfills right? Unfortunately that's exactly what happens to most glass products. Now, there’s a team aiming to fix this.

• Saint-Gobain Glass Recycling was created, in France, to achieve closed-loop recycling of end-of-life glass, preserving resources and decarbonizing flat glass production.
• A?close and fruitful collaboration between several?entities of Saint-Gobain in France, including Saint-Gobain Vitrage Batiment (Building Glass) Saultain, drives the success?of this innovative recycling initiative.

?

• "The entire site is involved in the project, from the logistics department responsible for recovering the glass, to the production department recovering scraps of glass, and even the commercial team managing customer relationships",?says? Serge Tager , highlighting the teams' enthusiasm for being?amongst the major players fully committed to sustainable construction.

Building bridges

Making the Paris 2024 Olympic & Paralympic games a large-scale, landmark experiment in construction material reuse: challenge accepted!

• As an “Official Supporter” of the Paris 2024 Games, Saint-Gobain is proud to bring its sustainable construction expertise to enrich the experience of both athletes and spectators, starting with the Athletes’ Village, where our teams are implementing innovative, exemplary solutions.
• 60,000 m2 of demountable partitions will be installed, allowing for the transformation of the Village into 120,000 sqm of activities, offices, and shops and over 2,800 new housing units once the Games conclude.*

??

Expanding our horizon

Once upon a time, there was… glass!

• Embark on a journey to Egypt, Venice, and the court of Louis XIV with our captivating documentary, "A Story of Glass." Explore the fascinating history of this material that has profoundly influenced our world for centuries.

?

*version fran?aise

Faire des Jeux Olympiques et Paralympiques de Paris 2024 une expérience historique et à grande échelle de réutilisation des matériaux de construction : défi relevé !

• En tant que ??Supporteur officiel?en solutions pour la rénovation et la construction durable ? des Jeux de Paris 2024, Saint-Gobain est fier de contribuer à enrichir l'expérience des sportifs et des spectateurs, à commencer par le Village des Athlètes, où nos équipes mettent en ?uvre des solutions innovantes et durables.
• 60 000 m2 de cloisons démontables seront ainsi installées, permettant la transformation du Village en 120 000 m2 d'activités, de bureaux et de commerces et plus de 2 800 nouveaux logements à l'issue des Jeux.