Sodium chloride, most commonly known as salt, is everywhere. Ancient in its uses and abundant in nature, it preserves local ecosystems, de-ices roads, is vital in a variety of industrial processes, and is likely sitting on your kitchen table as a seasoning for your meals. Today, it is attributed relatively little value –considering it used to be as worthy as gold–, and unlike other nature-derived alternatives such as algae or mycelium, there doesn’t seem to be enough research and interest around all of its physical, mechanical or aesthetic properties. And yet it is a material with infinite, extraordinary potential. Apart from its life-supporting qualities, salt is affordable, easily available, antibacterial, resistant to fire, can store humidity and heat, and is great at reflecting and diffusing light.
We know that one of the key challenges in improving resource efficiency in the building industry is to identify materials that can substitute rare natural resources, so could salt, with all its characteristics, become a viable option? Could it be a material of the future? Of course, just as there is potential, there are difficulties associated with salt that have limited its use as a building material: it is naturally prone to moisture absorption, susceptible to erosion by wind and water, and can cause corrosion to metal components used in construction. This implies that a long list of criteria must be met, but it also provides the opportunity to explore certain applications where salt could be beneficial despite the challenges.
