130 articles
Detail drawing
A detail drawing is a large-scale architectural drawing showing a small part of a building, such as a wall junction, with exact construction, dimensions, and materials.
DGNB
DGNB, or Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen, is the German Sustainable Building Council, founded in 2007 to certify buildings, districts, interiors, and construction sites for sustainability.
Drywall
Drywall, also known as Sheetrock or plasterboard, is a fire-resistant panel of gypsum faced with paper, used for interior walls and ceilings; modern wallboard was invented in 1916 by United States Gypsum.
EDGE certification
EDGE certification, short for Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies, is a green building system created by the IFC that certifies buildings saving 20 percent in energy, water, and materials.
Embodied carbon
Embodied carbon is the total greenhouse gas emissions from producing, transporting, and assembling building materials, one of the two halves of a building's carbon account alongside operational carbon.
Emerging Objects
Emerging Objects is an Oakland, California 3D printing company co-founded by Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello, known for inventing printable building materials including salt and cement polymer.
EN 206
EN 206 is a European standard prepared by CEN titled Concrete – Specification, performance, production and conformity, covering specifying, producing, and assessing concrete; its successor parts appeared in 2026.
Engineered cementitious composite
Engineered cementitious composite (ECC), also called strain-hardening cementitious composite or bendable concrete, is a fiber-reinforced cement material that stretches over 300 times more than ordinary concrete.
Environmental impact of concrete
The environmental impact of concrete comes chiefly from Portland cement, made by heating limestone and clay, which releases CO2 equal to roughly 8% of global emissions.
Ferrocement
Ferrocement is a thin-wall reinforced concrete in which cement mortar is reinforced with closely spaced layers of steel wire mesh, invented by Joseph-Louis Lambot in 1855 and used for boats, water tanks, and low-cost construction.
Fire risk assessment
A fire risk assessment is a systematic evaluation of the risks fire poses to people, property, and the environment, combining the likelihood of fire with its consequences.
Floor plan
A floor plan, also called a ground plan, is a scale drawing of one building level viewed from above, showing rooms, doors, windows, and stairs.
Fly ash in concrete
Fly ash in concrete is the use of coal combustion ash as a partial replacement for Portland cement, improving concrete performance and lowering its carbon footprint.
Framing (construction)
Framing, also called frame construction, is the structural skeleton of a building: beams, studs, and walls that carry loads to the foundation, typically wood or steel.
GB 50011
GB 50011, the Standard for Seismic Design of Buildings, is China's national standard for the seismic, isolation, and energy-dissipation design of buildings, mandatory at intensity 6 or above.
Germania (city)
Germania, fully Welthauptstadt Germania, was the planned rebuilding of Berlin as capital of a Nazi world empire, designed by Albert Speer from 1937 and never realized.
Glass fiber reinforced concrete
Glass fiber reinforced concrete, also called GRC, is a cementitious composite in which alkali-resistant glass fibers are dispersed in fine mortar, producing thin, strong, lightweight cladding panels and architectural elements.
Glued laminated timber
Glued laminated timber, commonly called glulam, is an engineered structural wood product made by bonding lumber with adhesives, patented in 1906 and used in beams, arches, and bridges.
Green building
Green building, also known as sustainable building or green construction, is the practice of creating structures that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life cycle.
Green Star (building rating system)
Green Star is an Australian sustainability rating and certification system for buildings, interior fitouts, and communities, administered by the Green Building Council of Australia since 2003, with more than 7,500 projects certified.
Ground freezing
Ground freezing (artificial ground freezing, AGF) is a geotechnical construction method that circulates refrigerant through drilled pipes, freezing pore water into a temporary ice-soil mass that strengthens ground and cuts off water.
Ground granulated blast-furnace slag
Ground granulated blast-furnace slag, also called GGBS or slag cement, is a finely ground byproduct of iron production in a blast furnace used to replace Portland cement in concrete.
Hempcrete
Hempcrete, also called hemp-lime concrete, is a bio-composite building material of hemp shiv and lime, first mixed in France around 1990 for insulation and wall infill.
History of construction
The history of construction records how humans planned and built shelters, monuments, and cities, from Neolithic earth and timber through Roman concrete to steel frames and prefabrication.
Holcim Group
Holcim Group is a Swiss building materials company headquartered in Zug that produces cement, aggregates, and ready-mix concrete, with over 50,000 employees in 45 markets.
Hotel New World collapse
The Hotel New World collapse was the sudden failure of Singapore's six-storey Lian Yak Building in Rochor on 15 March 1986, killing 33 people and prompting major building-safety reforms.
Industry Foundation Classes
Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is an open data model describing objects, properties, and relationships in buildings and infrastructure, published by buildingSMART International as ISO 16739.
Integrated project delivery
Integrated project delivery (IPD) is a construction project delivery method in which the owner, prime designer, and prime builder share risk and reward, with each participant's success tied to the project's success.
International Building Code
The International Building Code (IBC) is a model building code published by the International Code Council, first published in 2000 and adopted in some form in every U.S. state.
International Energy Conservation Code
The International Energy Conservation Code, first published in 1998, is a model building energy code by the International Code Council that states and local jurisdictions adopt directly.