Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Global Building Material Intensity Revealed for Circular and Low-Carbon Construction

Quantifying the material intensity of buildings (MIB)
is fundamental
for built environment stock accounting, construction resource and
waste management, and embodied carbon assessment. However, existing
MIB data reported in the literature are often sparse, heterogeneous,
and scattered across archetypes, which hinders comparability, quality
checks, and harmonization. Here, we compiled a global MIB database
containing 3051 MIB records in a unified form measured in kg/m2 for 31 types of construction materials, based on both secondary
and primary data from multiple sources. Applying a mean-absolute-deviation
(MAD) rule to generate archetype-specific general MIBs, we revealed
that the upward pressure on MIB from increases in floor area and building
height has been partly offset by the use of light-weight materials,
yielding a current aggregate MIB of 1464.3 kg/m2 that is
comparable to the pre-1920 levels. Global building material composition
shifted markedly away from brick and wood and toward higher shares
of steel, cement, sand, and stone, alongside sizable heterogeneity
across archetypes, regions, and periods. This expanded, standardized,
and harmonized global MIB database can help inform material efficiency
targets, embodied carbon baselines, and stock-aware planning for selective
demolition, procurement, and renovation in a circular and low-carbon
construction transition.