Materials science for sustainable construction


Chair launched 

June 2011




The purpose of this Chair is to take an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to research on construction materials, in order to open up new possibilities that are friendlier to the environment, human beings, and the planet.        

The aim is to develop the necessary scientific bases for an interdisciplinary and multiscale approach to the engineering of construction materials, through a combination of geochemistry, mechanics, and advanced observation and digital simulation tools.


The Chair takes a global approach to sustainable development.

In taking account of the new environmental constraints, the Chair seeks to optimize the use of construction materials, their properties, and their durability. The priorities are to use natural resources sustainably, reduce the negative environmental and human effects of building operations, improve heat insulation in buildings, control the ageing process in constructions, and recycle materials and structures.

The teaching and research themes tackled under the Chair program cover the physio-mechanical properties of porous media, numerical simulation and scale change methods, disordered media and physical investigation tools, economics and sustainable development.
The Chair has made it possible for École des Ponts ParisTech to acquire a shared X-ray micro-tomography imaging platform.