This document discusses contemporary building materials including brick, reinforced concrete, stone, wood, pre-engineered steel, aluminum, glass, stainless steel, external finishes, and flooring. It provides details on the properties, uses, advantages, and disadvantages of each material. Brick, reinforced concrete, and stone are among the oldest and most versatile materials. Newer materials like pre-engineered steel, glass, and aluminum enable unique building designs but often require more energy and technology. A variety of external finishes and false ceilings allow customization of interior and exterior surfaces.

1. Contemporary Building Materials
Sarbjit Singh Bahga
Senior Architect
Punjab Mandi Board

2. An Over view
 Brick
 R.C.C.
 Stone
 Wood
 Pre-engineered steel
 Aluminium
 Glass
 Stainless steel
 External finishes
 Flooring
 False ceiling

3. Brick:
 One of the oldest building material in the world.
 Available locally.
 Environment friendly.
 Very Versatile.
 Very enduring and durable.
 Very soothing colour.
 Colour does not fade.
 Can be used in load-bearing walls, columns, roofs
and as external finish also.
 Can be used as external finish also.
 Very economical.

4. Brick:

5. Brick:

6. Brick:

7. R.C.C. (Reinforced cement concrete) :
 Very Versatile.
 Has plastic qualities.
 Can be moulded in any shape.
 Can be made locally.
 Very enduring and durable.
 Can be used in load-bearing structural
components like walls, columns, beams and
slabs.
 Can be used as external finish also.

8. R.C.C.

9. Stone:
 Oldest building material in the world.
 Environment friendly.
 Can be used in natural shape or in dressed form.
 Can be used in load-bearing walls, columns and
roofs.
 Can be used as external finish also.
 Very enduring and durable.
 Labour intensive – generates employment.
 Heavy and difficult to transport.
 Can be /should be used if available locally.
 Available in many varieties, colours and textures.

10. Stone:

11. Wood:
 One of the oldest material in the world.
 Available in large varieties and everywhere.
 Environment friendly.
 Can be used as structural material, external
finish, and individual building components like
floors, doors, windows, furniture etc.
 If treated well, it is very enduring and durable.
 Very soothing to look at and touch.
 Very good for thermal insulation.
 Labour intensive –generates employment.

12. Wood:

13. Pre-Engineered Steel:
 Latest material and technology in building
construction.
 Being pre-engineered and pre-fabricated in
factories –reduces construction time.
 Easy to erect and assemble at site.
 High precision is achieved in construction.
 Very versatile.
 Able to construct any shape and form, and
large spans.
 Very durable and enduring.
 Can be reused and recycled.
 Very economical.

14. Pre-Engineered Steel:

15. Aluminium :
 Very durable and enduring.
 Very costly.
 Can be used as structural members in facades,
glazing etc.
 Can be used as external finish.
 Can be used in individual building components
like doors, windows etc.
 Consumes high energy in manufacturing.
 Not environment friendly.

16. Aluminium :

17. Glass:
 Available in large varieties, sizes and thicknesses.
 Toughened glass is very hard and does not break
easily.
 Latest double-skin glass is very useful for thermal
insulation –keeps heat of the sun out up to 73 per
cent.
 Can be used for glazing, façade treatment,
partitions, doors, windows etc.
 Needs no maintenance except cleaning.
 Latest varieties of glass are very costly.
 Can be moulded in curved form, but very costly.
 Not very easy to handle.

18. Glass:

19. Stainless Steel:
 Very versatile hard and tensile.
 Can be moulded in any shape.
 Very enduring and durable.
 Needs no maintenance.
 Very costly.
 Needs high technology and precision.
 Not very popular in India so far.
 Can be recycled and reused.
 Corrosion resistance and sustainable material.

20. Stainless Steel:

21. External Finishes:
 Brick/tile cladding.
 Stone cladding.
 Paints.
 Grit wash.
 Rough-cast-thrown concrete finish.
 ACP (Aluminium coated panel) cladding.
 Zinc coated panel cladding.
 Stainless steel cladding.
 Glass cladding.

22. Brick/tile cladding.

23. Stone cladding.

24. Grit wash

25. ACP (Aluminium coated panel) cladding.

26. Zinc coated panel cladding.

27. Stainless steel cladding.

28. Paints.

29. False Ceiling:
 Plaster-of-Paris (POP) false ceiling.
 Gypsum board false ceiling.
 Mineral-fibre tile false ceiling.
 Metal false ceiling.

30. Plaster-of-Paris (POP) false ceiling.

31. Gypsum board false ceiling.

32. Mineral-fibre tile false ceiling.

33. Metal false ceiling.

34. Thank You