Buildings designed and engineered today will still be standing when climate change bites. By 2050, it is estimated that global temperatures may have risen by 2ºC and by 2100 perhaps as much as 4ºC. Once triggered, the rise is exponential. Not only will there be an increase in temperatures overall but by incidence of storms and heavy rainfall will increase. There will be pressure on building systems, on the building fabric itself, on land settlement patterns and on transportation, but in a world where development and construction is married with the most economic business models and market trends, the most environmentally friendly construction and materials are a hard sell to say the least. Today despite major concerns and evidence worldwide about impending climate chaos and economic turmoil construction methods are slow to react; however, green buildings are achieving rapid penetration in Construction markets. Sustainable development and a world of sustainable environmental equilibrium is a lot more that green buildings, it accounts for urban planning and a worldwide network of freedom and balance of resources, but it is impossible to achieve without green buildings.
Green buildings can marry the best features of conventional construction methods with emerging high-performance approaches and in my opinion will be the greatest tool to fight climate change and if enough get built worldwide, it could be the best ‘grass roots’ approach towards a sustainable planet. But can green buildings and sustainable construction cope in a world of climate and economic instability?
Here are three reasons why they will not only cope, but will make sense in the long-term regardless of which climate change and environmental doom scenario you choose to believe in.
- Sustainable construction techniques provide an ethical and practical response to issues of environmental impact and resource consumption. Sustainability assumptions encompass the entire life cycle of the building and its components, from resource extraction through disposal at the end of the materials’ useful life. Conditions and processes in factories are considered, along with the actual performance of their manufactured products in the completed building. High-performance green building design relies on renewable resources for energy systems; recycling and reuse of water and materials; integration of native and adapted species for landscaping; passive heating, cooling and ventilation; and other approaches that minimize environmental impact and resource consumption.
- Green buildings virtually always make economic sense on a life-cyclecost (LCC) basis. Though they may be more expensive on a capital, or first-cost, basis. Sophisticated energy-conserving lighting and air conditioning systems with exceptional response to interior and exterior climate will cost more than their conventional, code-compliant counterparts. Rainwater harvesting systems that collect and store rainwater for non-potable uses will require additional piping, pumps, controls, storage tanks, and filtration components. However, most key green building systems will recoup their original investment within a relatively short time. As energy and water prices rise due to increasing demand and diminishing supply, the payback period will decrease. LCC provides a consistent framework for discerning the true economic advantage of these alternative systems, by evaluating their performance over the course of a building’s useful life.
- Sustainable design acknowledges the potential effect of the physical structure, including its operation, on the health of its human occupants. A 1984 World Health Organization report suggested that as much as 30% of new and remodelled buildings worldwide may generate excessive complaints related to indoor air quality. Estimates peg the direct and indirect costs of building-related illnesses, including lost worker productivity, as exceeding $150 billion per year. Conventional construction methods have traditionally paid little attention to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), Building Related Illness, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) until prompted by lawsuits. In contrast, green buildings consistently utilize several approaches that promote Occupant health. Including but not exclusively protecting ductwork to avoid contamination during construction, specifying finishes with low to zero volatile organic components to prevent potentially hazardous chemical ‘off gassing’, more precise sizing of heating and cooling components to promote dehumidification to reduce mould, and the use of ultraviolet radiation to kill mould and bacteria in ventilation systems.
It is time we start to consider the long-term implications of our actions and stop to rely on economic models that will enrich some in the short-term but will eventually leave everyone without a home. Lets embrace green building construction!
It is time we start to consider the long-term implications of our actions and stop to rely on economic models that will enrich some in the short-term but will eventually leave everyone without a home. Lets embrace green building construction!
Image © laurenatclemson
What is ‘Sustainable Construction’?
The terms green and sustainable construction are often used interchangeably; however, it is the term sustainable construction that most comprehensively addresses the ecological, social, and economic issues of a building in context of its community. In 1994, the Conseil International du Batiment (CIB), an international construction research networking organization, defined the goal of sustainable construction as “…creating operating built environment based on resource efficiency and ecological design.” The CIB articulated Seven Principles of Sustainable Construction, which would ideally inform decision making during each phase of the design and construction process, continuing throughout the building’s entire life cycle. These Factors also apply when evaluating the components and other resources needed for construction. These seven principles apply across the entire life cycle of construction from, from planning to disposal.
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