Sustainable Architecture

Sustainable architecture has become more popular in recent decades. Would you believe that you can conserve our mother nature if you pay attention during the construction of a building? Sounds, unbelievable? Well, sustainable architecture exactly does this. Stay with me till the end as I take you on a trip through sustainable architecture and designs.

Let’s start from the basics.

What is Sustainable Architecture?

Sustainable architecture aims to reduce buildings’ negative environmental impacts by using materials, energy and development space with efficiency and in moderation. The goal of sustainable architecture is to ensure that our use of currently available resources does not have a negative impact on our collective well-being and future generations.

The underlying concept is that such structures “sustain” their users by:

Principles of Sustainable Architecture

Sustainable Architecture is the method of constructing buildings that create living spaces and reduce the use of human resources and energy. The principles of sustainable architecture are reflected in a building’s construction materials and procedures, as well as its resource utilisation, such as heating, cooling, power, water, and wastewater treatment. The following are the principles of sustainable architecture:

Healthy Interior Environment

Sustainable Architecture ensures that materials and building systems do not emit harmful compounds and gases into the interior atmosphere. It employs additional filtration and plantings to clean and refresh the indoor air.

Resource Efficiency

Sustainable Architecture takes all possible efforts to minimise the building’s energy and other resource use. Cooling, heating, and lighting systems use energy-saving methods and products. Water consumption and wastewater output are kept to a minimum.

Environment friendly Materials

The sustainable architecture employs building materials and products that cause the least amount of environmental damage. Architects who follow sustainable architecture assess the building’s materials’ long-term environmental and societal costs. They ensure that it is in line with sustainability goals.

Environmental Form

When it comes to sustainable architecture and design, all reasonable efforts should be made to match the design’s form and plan to the site, area, and climate. Measures will be done to “heal” and improve the site’s environment. There will be provisions for recycling and energy efficiency. Measures must be taken to link the structure’s design to a harmonious relationship between humans and nature.

Must read: Concept of green building- 4 comprehensive concepts easy read!

Excellent Design

To establish an efficient, long-lasting, and aesthetic link of area usage, circulation, building form, mechanical systems, and construction technology, all necessary measures must be implemented. Search for and convey symbolic linkages with relevant history, the Earth, and spiritual ideas. The finished structures must be well-built, functional, and attractive.

Sustainable Energy Use

The most crucial goal of sustainable architecture is energy efficiency over a building’s full life cycle. Architects employ a variety of passive and active approaches to minimise a building’s energy consumption. These systems boost the building’s ability to capture or create its energy.

Sustainable architecture promotes the use of passive systems to make use of building locations with included architectural components and renewable energy sources to fulfil its energy needs. Fossil fuel resources are used just as needed to minimise expense and complexity.

Also read: Ways to conserve water-15 innovative and easy techniques

HVAC Aspects of Sustainable Architecture

A well-insulated building is a vital and cost-effective component of an efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Buildings release significant quantities of energy into the water, air, and compost streams. On-site energy recycling solutions successfully capture energy from discarded hot water and stale air. And, transfer it to incoming fresh cold water or fresh air.

Passive Solar Building Design

• Passive solar building design eliminates the use of active solar devices such as photovoltaic cells or solar hot water panels. It allows structures to efficiently harness the energy of the sun.
• Passive solar building designs use materials with high thermal mass that can efficiently store heat.
• It also uses solar shades, such as awnings, blinders, shutters, to reduce solar heat gain in summers. Thereby it eliminates the need for artificial cooling.
• In addition, to reduce heat loss, low-energy buildings often feature a relatively low surface area to volume ratio.

It’s time we talk about the eyes of the building, the windows.

• We position the windows to optimise heat-generating light while reducing heat loss through the glass, a poor insulator.
• In the northern hemisphere, architects add a lot of south-facing windows to catch the direct sunlight and limit the amount of north-facing windows. Double or triple glazed insulated windows with gas-filled spaces and low emissivity (low-E) coatings provide significantly higher insulation than single-pane glass windows.
• In the summer, it is important to prevent excessive sunlight gain with solar shading devices to lower cooling costs.
• We plant Deciduous trees in front of windows to hide excessive sunlight in the summer. They allow light to pass through in the winter when the leaves fall off.

Water Conservation in Sustainable Architecture

Water conservation is a priority for sustainable buildings. Green roofs are one water-saving solution that green buildings incorporate. Rooftop vegetation absorbs storm drainage water on green roofs. This feature not only gathers water for later use but also acts as a good insulator, reducing the urban heat island effect.

Another water-saving strategy is to process wastewater so that it can be reused. If you wish to know about wastewater treatment in detail, do check out Wastewater Treatment- Stages and Process full details

Sustainable Building Materials

The sustainable architecture employs a variety of sustainable building materials like recycled denim or blown-in fibreglass insulation, sustainably harvested wood, Trass, Linoleum, sheep wool, hempcrete, roman concrete, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, seagrass, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fibre plates, calcium sandstone.

One of the strongest and fastest-growing woody plants, bamboo is finding wide applications in sustainable architecture. Bamboo flooring is highly beneficial since it helps to minimise pollutant particles in the air.

Sustainable Architecture Examples

Let’s have a look at some buildings around the world that were constructed according to the principles of sustainable architecture. These buildings maintain carbon neutrality, depend on renewable and sustainable energy sources like solar and wind, ensure a green cover of trees around and inside them and employ wastewater processing and rainwater harvesting. They are:

• Vancouver Convention Centre West – Vancouver, Canada
• Museum of Tomorrow – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• One Central Park – Sydney, Australia
• Shanghai Tower – Shanghai, China
• CopenHill – Copenhagen, Denmark

Also read: Sustainable Cities -Features Full Guide

Conclusion

Sustainable architectural principles find increasing application in public building designs. While cost is always a key priority for civic building designers, keep in mind that investing more upfront in sustainable techniques can not only save money in the long run, but also improve air quality, well-being, and pave the path for a regenerative future.