Dear Colleagues,

According to 2019 UN estimations, 77% of the world’s GDP is produced in cities, which consume 71% of the global energy production. If we add to that the indirect energy consumption related to human inhabitants in cities, the figure rises to 82% of the world’s CO₂ emissions. Therefore, ensuring an efficient use of energy in urban environments could contribute from 10% to 30% of the expected carbon reduction for the world in the next 5 years.

This key objective for the world is to be achieved in green buildings through an efficient use of energy mainly related to innovative building materials and their re-engineering. The purpose of this Special Issue is to concentrate on the most relevant enhancements proposed by new approaches to building materials, their processing, and complete lifecycle re-design. The expected scope includes all relevant approaches, namely concentrating on:

• Phase-changing materials (PCMs) and their integration in building envelopes;
• Cellular materials and their functional development;
• Natural renewable materials engineered for long durability and a negative carbon impact;
• Hybrid materials design for shape and functional enhancement;
• Multilayered solutions for enhanced structural materials;
• Bio-inspired materials innovation;
• 3D-printed building solutions for multifunctional performance;
• Sandwich materials as integrated solutions;
• Thin-films and inkjet-printed design of e-functionalities on advanced materials processing to building materials;
• Passive design of building subsystems;
• Modular construction and circularity;
• Building materials reuse and reconditioning—from waste to value;
• Assessment of materials’ impact on building certification and carbon reduction.

This Special Issue is expected to bring together existing innovations on materials and their technology for a multidisciplinary approach to the future green building construction.

Dr. Javier Orozco-Messana
Dr. Martijn Rietbergen
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

• PCM
• cellular materials
• bio-inspired design
• hybrid design
• materials functionalization
• environmental impact
• indoor air quality
• building energy assessment tools
• building circularity
• building certification