Architecture and Sustainability

If we are to ensure that future generations can enjoy a satisfactory quality of life then a sustainable approach towards the use of the earth’s natural resources is now critical.

In its broadest scope, sustainability refers to the ability of a society and eco-systems, to continue functioning into the future, without being forced into decline through exhaustion or overloading of the key resources on which that system depends.

Architects can play a major role in the creation of a sustainable society. Environmental deterioration results from a lack of relevant information and poor design is responsible for many of our environmental problems.

To minimise future degradation and to restore already degraded environments, architects are challenged to lead the way into the newly emerging and rapidly flourishing field of environmentally conscious architecture and sustainable development.

The UIA Declaration of Interdependence for a Sustainable Future, signed at the 1993 UIA Congress, was a clarion call for architects around the world to place environmental and social responsibility at the core of their practices and professional responsibilities

At the recent UIA Congress 2005 in Istanbul sustainability was again a major theme with contributions from a wide variety of speakers including the keynote speaker, Ken Yeang, a pioneer in the application of his bio-climatic principles to tall buildings.

As leaders in the building design process, architects have a unique opportunity to shape the ‘built environment’. The buildings and amenities they design can help to influence morale, productivity and comfort in the places where people work, shop, play and live.

However, the application of the principles of sustainability to architecture, urbanism and planning requires the committed participation of all the relevant parties: policymakers, planners, architects, engineers, landscape architects, developers and contractors. Improvement in quality in the built environment is dependant on close collaboration between each of these separate disciplines.

The need to address mans impact on the environment has never been more urgent. Environmental disasters from flooding in India and Bangladesh to drought in African countries, from the destruction of the Greenland ice sheet, to flooding in Ireland are increasing features of our news headlines.

Scientists predict that the Earth will warm by 1.4 to 5.8degreesC by 2100 – more than temperatures are thought to have changed since the dawn of humanity. It is now widely accepted that this is largely due to rising concentrations of greenhouse gases, most significantly CO2.

In the developed world, buildings consume half the energy we generate and are responsible for half the Co² emissions, the remainder being divided almost equally between transport and industry.

To avoid environmental catastrophe, we need to adapt sustainable development strategies. Sustainability requires us to think holistically. The location and function of a building, its orientation, its form and structure, its heating and service systems and the materials used all affect the amount of energy used to build, run and maintain it.

Most new buildings could be designed to run on a fraction of current energy levels. But designing energy efficient buildings alone is not enough.

For effective sustainability we also need to plan our cities, towns and villages on a holistic basis. As a higher proportion of our population moves to living in urban settlements it is important that their form is sustainable.

Urban environments that sprawl are for less energy efficient than densely planned communities. We need to ensure that new extensions to our cities, towns and villages reduce dependency on car-use and are compact in form

Holistic thinking must equally be applied to creating mixed -use communities with coordinated infrastructure, transport systems, street systems, and public realm to ensure that we achieve a high quality urban life.

The nature of the workplace in our knowledge economy is such that it is now possible to create communities where work environment, businesses, schools and shops are all within walking or cycling distance of home. This is merely the modern update of the form of our Georgian or Victorian neighbourhoods and is a proven format to create sustainable communities.

At the beginning of the 21st Century, the built environment professions are co-ordinating efforts to confront the challenge of increasing environmental concerns and threats to the quality of life. Superior design and technology are important agents in successfully translating the requirements of a viable global eco-system into settlements that not only sustain but also substantially advance our cultural and economic well-being.

Sustainable design and technology offer opportunities to make living more enjoyable, productive and intelligent and to restore degraded environments.

Architects and Built Environment professionals have a vital role as advocates in encouraging sustainable solutions to our built environment. But we also need more progressive clients and policy makers with the courage to set goals and incentives for society to follow.

Some of our European neighbours, in particular Germany and the Scandinavian countries, have taken the lead in the effort to reduce consumption and adopt renewable energy sources that is reflected in building codes.

Temple Bar Properties with its two exemplar sustainable projects: the Green Building and West End residential project has been a model Irish example of such leadership. Equally a number of Irish local authorities have shown the way with their new headquarter buildings. However, these represent a tiny majority of overall Irish building output.

There are no technological barriers to sustainable development, only those of political will. If we are to avoid the environmental damage, brought by our past and current unsustainable patterns of development, then we need to take action in unison and as a matter of urgency. Our planet and future generations deserve this gesture as a legacy of our era.