Why Architecture must move towards sustainability? (Part 2)

A few weeks ago we started this “post series” explaining the big impact architecture had in the environment and the reasons why we must work on designs that recover its architectural essence and avoid the big emissions buildings produce now a days.

But, the question is:

HOW DO I MAKE A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING?

Besides the conditions and premises that any building with different uses states (is not the same to design a single house than a hospital building), there are several identical rules every architect should be able to apply to any of their designs.

1.    Understand the environment of the site. Climatology, orientation, local available sources for materials, traditional local construction techniques, etc. and design in order to adapt the building to those surroundings. Usually, the traditional local construction techniques have been improved and developed thru years to adapt the buildings to that area in particular.

Please, abandon the idea that you can design anything you want and then fill it up with high consuming machines to acclimatize the rooms. This is a mistake. We must consume less energy in our buildings.

2.    Never over dimension a building just for the fact of making the “King Size” effect. Bigger doesn’t mean better.

3.    Investigate deeper on design strategies that help to make buildings more and more efficient and environmental friendly. There are thousands of amazing solutions and techniques, and thousand more that are coming up everyday. In the Diagrammatic Section GUASL has made for this post, you can find a few of them, some very basic, some more sophisticated, but all of them out in the market to be used and improved.

4.    You can go for a Rating System such as LEED, BREAM, GREEN MARK, GREEN STAR and let them guide you thru the process of making a sustainable building. Those Certifications are made to standardize and give you a rating based on the performance of your building compared to a baseline. Taking a look thru any of its checklists and reference guide books will give you a very extended idea of how could you design greener. After achieving an award on any of this rating system, your building will be internationally recognised for its sustainable performance and you will save a lot of money afterwards in consumption.

5.    There are other fields that are actively investigating on new things for design strategies. Biomimicry Guild is a science that takes solutions from nature and applies them to solve human problems. They have fascinating stuff. Here you can find an example and see what I am talking about.
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/12/10/building-modelled-on-termites-eastgate-centre-in-zimbabwe/

The Architecture Revolution has begun. Come on in.