What does it mean to be sustainable?

Is sustainable architecture really sustainable? What makes it sustainable? 


To the average joe, sustainable architecture may just seem like placing plants onto a building but in reality it's much more complex. This is an misunderstanding that I myself believed in before taking an interest in architecture. 

Sustainability in my eyes should be about a building and it's architect trying to break even or surpass the amount of carbon that was used or taken up by the construction of/and the building. 


Embodied carbon
This is quite difficult to achieve in architecture due to the "embodied" carbon in building materials, in simpler terms it refers to the carbon footprint of a material.

Let's take steel beams as an example, the steel would have been extracted from an ore, the ore is then melted down, then melted down again and then transported. All of these processes are extremely carbon rich activities, this is what's meant by the term "embodied" carbon. 

What can we do?


As architects we can do a great number of things to promote sustainability and help contribute to the environment.

Firstly through site choice and analysis we can maximise the use of the environment around our design to contribute to ventilation, lighting and a great deal of other things. Also, through design choices such as orientation and window placement etc, we can lower the amount of energy the inhabitants need to use which ultimately reduces their bills and carbon usage which can seem enticing to consumers. 

On a smaller scale as designers we can make the conscious decision to use materials that are recycled or sustainably sourced for our projects, this can be as simple as using an old cereal box to make models or making our own paper out of old scraps to draw out new ideas. Furthermore, much like most people and workers we can make the decision to walk, cycle or run to work.



“Sustainability is a political choice, not a technical one.
It’s not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be”
-Gary Lawrence



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Manifesto, Sustainability

Image
  Is sustainability truly sustainable?   Before taking an interest in architecture and design I used to think that sustainability just meant adding plants and greenery to things.   Personal experiences and why I wanted to do this topic: GCSE product design Researching into Ken Yeang.   Embodied carbon through manufacturing processes and construction.   What have I learnt so far in terms of sustainability in design?   My opinion on what defines a sustainable building/product?   Maximising the use of the climate, whilst minimising the energy required to run the product/ building.   Both perspectives, consumer and designer. Having been both of them I can relate to both sides.   My ambitions for the future are to promote the construction/ progression of ecological cities where human systems and natural systems can co-exist.   Another ambition of mine is to convert or start converting an existing street into an ecological street that will hop...
Read more

Gothic architecture

Image
-Gothic/Revival Architecture sketches, drawn by me (Camron Lam) Gothic Architecture Gothic is a term that has been linked to many different things since it's initial creation. The word has been used to describe: An Architectural and Artistic style A genre of literature And as of recent a fashion aesthetic, typically featuring dark clothing and makeup Gothic architecture was an architectural style developed in medieval Europe in the mid-twelfth century. A trait of this style of architecture is that none of it was really drawn since they couldn't really draw in that time period which meant that a lot of Gothic architecture was built through trial and error. It typically featured tall buildings with cavernous spaces, tall ceilings and intricate ornamental façades. Lot's of Gothic architecture involved vaults, which were a good solution for the need to span large areas with masonry. These included: Barrel Vaults Groin Vaults Rib Vaults Fan Vaults https://cdn.britannica.com/47/7...
Read more

The designs of domus

Image
Nomadic Domus Nomadic domus refers to the homes of people who were often on the move, these involve living spaces such as tents, campervans and igloos. They are non-fixed living spaces that were occupied by people, examples include: Bedouins, Tents Innuits, Igloo Indigenous Americans, Tepee, Wigwam  Aboriginal Australians, Humpy Ancient Mongolians, Yurts They used Non-fixed homes as they often needed to hunt and follow herds of animals for a stable source of food. ~~~ What is interesting to me is how functional and intelligent some of the design choices in these nomadic living quarters are and it's intriguing to understand how some of the design choices of these structures can make a huge impact for their inhabitants. An example of this is the Igloo, it retains it's warmth via the application and understanding that heat rises. In this system the cold air is pushed towards the lower opening which is also the entrance whilst the hot air is kept and channeled out at a controlled r...
Read more