New Trends in Building Materials: What’s Worth the Hype in 2025?

Growing trends in sustainable construction materials put people first. Explore how they’re elevating today’s construction projects.

Key takeaways:

• Greener building materials are lowering costs and improving indoor air quality.
• These eco-friendly additions provide greater durability, longevity, and cost-efficiency.
• Glass, concrete, and steel are all evolving to meet global expectations.

Sustainability in construction has been making waves. Design-savvy business owners, architects, and developers know that materials matter to be successful in today’s highly competitive day and age..

New trends in building materials are answering old challenges through tougher, more attractive, and environmentally friendly materials that reap rewards long after installation. 

That’s why, in today’s article, we’ll spotlight some of those materials, like recycled steel, biophilic design surfaces, and low-carbon concrete, to help you discern what’s both functional and cost-effective for your next project.

Materials Shaping the Future of Construction

The attitudes of governing bodies and an environmentally aware public have shifted towards greener construction all over the world.

This is reflected in policies like the Federal Buy Clean Initiative, which promotes lower greenhouse gas profiles for government projects. Elsewhere, Chapter 4 BCEE mandates minimum energy efficiency standards for new construction and major renovations of residential and commercial buildings.

As the demand for more green buildings grows, sustainable construction materials are a central element in successfully meeting that demand. 

Unsurprisingly, you’ll find construction’s two core materials, concrete and cement, at the forefront of this shift.

Low-Carbon Concrete and Cement Alternatives

With more than 30 billion tons of concrete used annually, and with each ton producing up to 0.9 tons of CO₂, conventional concrete and cement pose a major environmental problem. 

New trends in building materials are managing the crisis by normalizing:

• Fly ash, a byproduct of coal, enhances the durability of concrete against water and chemicals.
• Slag cement offers a wide array of green benefits and applications, including higher compressive and flexural strength and improved workability.
• Carbon capture technology aims to trap toxic construction emissions before they reach the atmosphere, currently helping store over 50 million tons of CO₂ annually by converting gas to liquids, which are deposited into absorbent underground sites.

The purpose of these new trends is two-fold: protect environmental health and comply with evolving structural codes. Expect names like CarbonCure, Brimstone, or Holcim ECOPact to become common onsite terms.

Recycled and Reclaimed Steel

There’s a growing surge in demand for recycled and reclaimed steel in framing and infrastructure, also fuelled by the need to reduce global carbon emissions. Using steel-based sustainable construction materials brings other benefits, too.

Recycled steel maintains its original strength and reduces landfill content. Recycling is very easy, and it’s generally cheaper than new steel. It’s also eligible for LEED credits because it reduces heat island effects and lowers energy consumption through tighter building envelopes.

These collective advantages make “second-life steel” one of the most popular new trends in building materials and ideal for commercial, mixed-use, and industrial builds.

Biophilic Surfaces and Nature-Inspired Finishes

New trends in building materials are enhancing the connection between construction and the natural world. 

Natural materials are improving occupant wellbeing through cleaner airflows, more natural light, and thermal envelopes, keeping inhabitants as cool or cozy as required.

Buildings are literally becoming greener, as is the case with moss-covered panels placed over standard walls to provide an organic aesthetic, while also absorbing air pollutants and excess noise. They’re low maintenance, too.

Other popular nature-inspired touches are wood composites (for enhanced beauty and durability), terrazzo (high versatility and low lifecycle costs), and stone (cost-effective and energy efficient). 

Collectively, these materials provide optimal value within retail, office, and hospitality spaces.

Transparent Solar Panels and Smart Glazing

Windows provide views and light. They also spike the heat profile of a building, leading to higher HVAC costs and potential physical harm.

Enter next-gen glass options, which are part of an emerging breed of smart materials. These include:

• Silver-coated low-emissivity glass that reduces reflectiveness and lowers heat generation.
• Gel-filled windows that manage thermal shifts.
• Modular, 3D printed glass bricks that provide concrete-level strength.

Then, there are transparent solar panels: one of the newer trends in building materials, doubling as windows. These photovoltaic cells convert sunlight to electricity, reducing a building’s native power demands and are powerfully efficient complements to rooftop solar.

These sustainable construction materials are best suited for projects with more windows and power demands. Expect them to gain traction in office blocks, big retail, and other large-scale urban builds.

3D-Printed Components and Prefabrication

3D printing is by far the most adaptable of the new trends in building materials. Molds, structural forms, and other architectural details are being streamlined by the speed and versatility of 3D printing, all produced to spec.

While there are still only 130 entirely 3D-printed buildings worldwide, more construction projects are incorporating aspects of this emerging tech.

Prefab and modular construction are also booming thanks to individual building components, and sometimes entire utility-fitted rooms, being produced offsite for quick assembly onsite. 

With benefits like 20% cost savings and 40% time advantage, modular and prefab are set to become pillars of tomorrow’s construction industry.

Trends That May Not Deliver

Some sustainable construction materials are still in the experimental stage or suffering from scaling difficulties.

For example, graphene’s benefits are perfect for future construction (greater energy efficiency, durability, and strength), but production on an industry-impacting scale is hindered by prohibitive expense and inconsistent performance.

Mycelium bricks also need a little more time in the oven. Their impressive biodegradable and non-toxic properties, combined with fire resistance and lower costs, aren’t enough to sell the industry on wide-scale adoption.

After all, biodegradability becomes a hindrance when bricks don’t last long, and a marked vulnerability to moisture makes mycelium components less than ideal. Still, fungal foundations may one day become another staple of construction!

Matching Innovation to Real-World ROI

Sustainability and ROI will be some of your leading filters for adoption, but knowing when to integrate new trends in building materials and when to wait can be confusing. You don’t want to invest heavily before any material’s long-term value has been established.

You can remove that uncertainty and make sustainable construction materials crystal clear by working with a future-facing construction company that’ll help you balance trendiness with practicality.

Optimize Your Next Project with RPC!

Decades of experience across the construction spectrum make RPC the perfect partner when you need guidance on selecting the right blend of durability, cost-effectiveness, and innovation.

Get in touch today, and we’ll help you build smarter with materials that matter!