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One could argue that Architecture is the most harmful profession for the planet. Its deep association with construction puts the profession in the front seat of environmental evils. In a world of mass development and over-population, construction is more like an unstoppable destructive cement truck which is constantly plowing through our planet destroying natural habitats than the sustainable and creative profession it should be; Architects it seems are riding shotgun.

Considering that even the most harmful of oil refineries has had the involvement of an Architect at some point during its construction and considering that we spend at least 80% of our lives in buildings (also designed by Architects) the numbers quickly start to stack up against the profession. It is no secret that Architecture has a huge impact on our environment and it is our duty as designers to do something about it. Now, isn’t time we do so?

Building techniques have for the most part remained un-changed for centuries, that is until the arrival of the industrial revolution. Technology changed everything. Technology in modern building techniques mutated those centuries old methods of construction and transformed them into to the wasteful consumer and money driven methods of today. Architects had little to do with this, but did nothing to prevent construction evolving through the need to meet the demands of rapid growth in urban conglomerates and the increasing availability of super fast technological advances. This left designers with little time to think beyond their next ‘commission’ (architects need to make a living like everybody else) and made any sustainable thinking and urban planning an irrelevant and expensive nuisance. In the Architecture profession it is almost impossible to keep up with the speed of mass development and the economic needs of a construction industry which thrives on competition and economic stability. Again this leaves little room to spend any time or money on perceived ‘extras’ which do not benefit the individual project but rather a whole planet.

There is hope. One good thing that can be rescued from this global economic downturn is that construction has in fact slowed down and with the ever more evident threats of global warming and food scarcity, architects, engineers builders, scientists and designers have a chance to finally ‘catch up’ with progress and begin to propose new ways of construction that will help us achieve modern sustainable lives. If we collectively stop and think for a minute we could potentially develop a workable sustainability that can be applied at a mass urban scale.

We need to begin to propose sustainable developments which can provide an integration as a whole of all the mega-cities and resources globally. We need to start locally, but think globally and implement simple design moves to every new project and aim to enhance the sustainability of a community as a whole. Otherwise no matter how many solar panels and wind turbines we slap onto the side of buildings we wont make a difference.  Careful consideration has to be given to the building’s life long cycle, its materials and its role in the community as a whole.

Buildings should be like trees, whether you are designing a small house extension or a multi-million pound stadium, buildings should become true habitats for people that provide not only shelter, but also food, water and energy.

So by creating neighborhoods in this way we would really be creating forests and habitats in an urban context. To achieve this, the following principles should always be a prime consideration for any development before any designer puts pen to paper (or finger on mouse might be more appropriate these days),

[Energy] minimize energy use and help mitigate against climate change

[Ecology and biodiversity] provide new wildlife habitats, mitigate for habitat lost through development, and
provide green links or stepping stones for species movement through urban areas

[Health] Greener buildings provide psychological benefits and potentially provide more contact with nature, this in tandem will bring more
physiological benefits through wider air quality improvements

[Social Integration] The development should provide a sustainable link that benefits its immediate community and its surroundings

[Economic] consider the impact in the local economy (global economies depend on localized economic growth)

To provide a workable urban sustainability plan we must also consider the life or all the elements of construction.We must strongly consider the fact that buildings are long-lived and cities are even longer-lived, stretching far into the future realm, a future of  unknown resources, pollution, and climate change. To give you an idea of how long into the future we need to look to consider the sustainability of any design, below are common life expectancy figures for different types of construction:

Building Services » 20 years

Buildings » 50 Years

Infrastructure (Roads, railways, etc..) » 100+ Years

Cities » 500+ Years

And finally to think about the figures will help us understand the impact that buildings can have on future sustainability. Buildings are huge hogs of raw material and we must look for ways to unlock the huge environmental capital which is trapped in common construction. Consider all the resources needed globally for construction:

Materials » 50% of all resources globally go into construction

Energy » 45% of energy generated is used to heat, light and ventilate buildings and 5% to construct them

Water » 40% of water used globally for sanitation and other uses in buildings

Land » 60% of prime agricultural land lost to farming is used for building purposes

Timber » 70% of global timber products end up in building construction

Isn’t time we use our great advances in technology to devise a way to reduce raw materials needed to build and to find ways to create sustainable urban environments? Until we consider all the points above before we even start to think about the specifics of a design, we will never achieve any level of sustainability in Architecture even if you slap a solar panel or two to a building.

Urbanism, sustainability and architecture

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