The demand for sustainable materials in Europe is growing. Principals do not only ask more for sustainability, but they are also more willing to invest in it. These are some of the results of Q3 2011 report of the European Architectural Barometer, a quarterly study among 1,200 architects in Europe.
The architects from almost all countries, besides the UK and Italy, are reporting that more principals are starting to ask for sustainable products. The highest willingness to invest in sustainable materials is found among the principals in Germany (53 percent) and France (52 percent) - either because in the long run investments like this pay off, or because their customers understand their benefits.
In Germany, France and the Netherlands, the demand for sustainable material has advanced most visibly compared to the Q3 2010 survey. In Q3 2011, more principals asked and were willing to pay for sustainable products than in Q3 2010 when respectively: 26 percent of the German, 26 percent of the French and 26 percent of the Dutch architects had experienced demand for sustainable materials with principals ready to pay for them.
In Spain, the importance of sustainability is also growing among principals (from 5 percent in 2010 to 22 percent willing to pay the price for it in 2011). Diminishing numbers of principals ready to invest in sustainable materials can be observed in the UK and Italy. The market in Italy is going through one of the most difficult periods for the sector, which might possibly cause this downfall.
These and many other results and trends of the development of the European construction market can be found in the European Architectural Barometer, an international research among 1,200 architects in Europe. Four times a year, this study is conducted by Arch-Vision in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Besides indicators to forecast European building volumes, a topic is highlighted each quarter (in Q3 2011, the special topic is sustainability). Architects can be used not only as a reliable source for future building volumes information, but their role is very important as they have great influence on how projects are built and which materials are used.