Summary Draft 1

In the article “The Self-Healing Concrete…” Spinks (2015), Hendrik Jonkers, a microbiologist at Delft University has innovated a form of self-healing concrete. It embeds self-activating limestone-producing bacteria into building material, thus lowering maintenance and repair costs for buildings.

However, Spinks mentions that the innovation cant cure wide cracks or potholes on roads, and a cubic-meter it costs €100, as opposed to the standard €70. The current cost would be prohibitive for many. And while using self-healing concrete is more feasible than shifting to a new material, that doesn’t mean the innovation is a sure bet.

John Alker, director of policy at the UK Green Building Council, believes that flaunting the benefits of new green technology would make its adoption successful, albeit acknowledging the stubbornness of the construction industry in adopting new ideas. Jonkers acknowledges this problem, and after doing a concrete-canal project in Ecuador, is optimistic that the industry will come to see the benefit of his innovation.