Lecture 2:

Introduction to sustainability and architecture

● Green revolution
-Green is typically associated with the individual products and processes that actually
seek to ''pick the low-hanging fruit'‘.
- Focuses on the individual components concerned with one leg or pillar which is “the
environmental health or economic vitality” - Safe practices ideologically.
- sustainability is a global term that is tied to the whole system, Individual consumer
products or other commercial materials are just one apart. Calls for a Culture change
in the definition of human needs and for the renovation of the community needs in
terms of protection of eco-system. “It deals with the whole process” (The
environmental health, economic vitality and social equity).

● Green washing
keep old practice under a new umbrella that pretends to be sustainable at
least commercially.

● Sustainably oriented architecture design (Truly Sustainable design)

where buildings are designed to have no net impact on the environment.

● Green building
is a label to the buildings that are designed and constructed in a process that is less
damaging to the environment-and to the building users-if they are compared to most
of the building constructed around today.

GGGC (Governor's Green Government Council):

- Green building has many definitions that may range from a building that is not too
bad in terms of its environmental negative impact; if compared to average buildings,
or one that are slightly better than the average building.
- To building that my represent a regenerative process may show some i
improvements and restoration of the site and the surrounding environment.
- focus on gradual steps to solve a particular known and measurable problem that is
facing our current practice.
''The Autonomous House''.
In 1975, Brenda and Robert Vale published the seminal book, ''. It was a manifesto
that offers down-to -earth suggestions for an individual dwelling that do not pollute
the environment or squander its resources. At the same time it's a self sufficient one.
The book was greatly appreciated among the world and was considered as a
significant move toward green architecture.

Twenty years later, they decided to turn their ideas into reality. The New Autonomous
House is a house built in the small town of South well in the British Midlands. It is an
environmentally friendly of four-bedroom with an easy design to be maintained.
Their design followed the six principles they proposed and published in their book
''Green Architecture'' in1991 as a basis for the ‘‘green design process’’.

- The six principles which are as follow:

- Conserving energy
- Conserving materials and resources
- Working with climate
- Respect for site
- Respecting for users
- Holism, relating to the wider urban environment
● The USGBC LEED Green Building rating system

Defined the key principles, strategies and technologies for green building design in
terms of five major elements as follow:

1- Sustainable Site Design (sustainable sites SS)

One of the fundamental components of sustainable building practice is the selection
and development of a building site. The sustainable site design prevent
environmental damages that may be caused which may take years to overcome

2- Water Conservation and Quality(water efficiency WE)

Based on the preservation of existing natural water cycle ,in addition to minimize the
un necessary and inefficient use of water resources with the maximizing of the
recycling and the reuse of water .this should include the harvested rain water, storm
water and gray water.

3- Energy and Environment (energy and atmosphere EA)

Through the minimizing of energy use and consumption, this would talk place through
responsible design strategies that respect energy use. In addition to maximize the use
of clean renewable sources of energy that has lower impact on the environment.

4- Conservation of Materials and Resources

where materials selection play an important role in the operation of a building. A
certain material life cycle, Extraction, processing and transportation may have a
negative impact on the environment, the minimizing of the use of nonrenewable
construction materials is quiet important with the effective use of recycled materials
and resources; In addition to the maximizing of re-usable sustainably managed ,bio-
based materials.

5- Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

through providing a healthy, comfortable and productive building's indoor
environment for users, this would be through a design that provides natural
ventilation, day lighting, and other indoor qualities.
The Taipei 101 “Taipei World Financial Center “Xinyi District, Taipei,
Taiwan
It was recognized as the world's tallest building
2004 such until the opening of Burj Khalifa in
Dubai in 2010. In July 2011, the building was
awarded the LEED Platinum certification, the
highest award according to the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating
system, and became the tallest and largest green
building in the world.

● Ecology and architecture

(environmentally friendly architecture)ecological architecture
'Ecology the science of the relationship and interaction of living organisms with their
inanimate (e.g. climate, soil) and their animate environment, as well as the study of
resource and energy management in the biosphere and its sub-categories.

Ecological design is Any form of design that minimizes environmentally destructive

impacts by integrating itself with living processes. --Sim Van der Ryn, and Stuart Cowan
Ecological design helps in connecting scattered efforts in field of green architecture,
sustainable agriculture, ecological engineering and ,many other fields

“Ecological Architecture can be considered as the architecture of which its design

emphasizes natural materials and renewable resources coming from place, from earth
to earth“
- positive design goals (increase beneficial interactions)
movement in contemporary architecture that aims to create an environment -friendly
architecture, with achieving energy- efficient buildings.
● Van der Ryn and Cowan five principles for ecological design

1- Solutions grow from place

It means that ecological designed should begin with the intimate knowledge of a
particular place, it represents on a small-scale the direct response to both local
conditions and local people, so being sensitive to nuance of place is the way to
inhabit without destroying.

2- Ecological Accounting informs design

Same as conventional design, no ecological design is executed without a carful
regarding and accounting of all ecological costs, this would be through tracing the full
set of ecological impacts of a design starting from resource depletion to pollution to
habitat destruction.

3- Design with Nature

It means that ecological design represents a sort of covenant between both human
communities and other living communities, violating the wider integrity of nature
should not take place in terms of ecological design, but instead it should work with
the patterns and processes favored by the living world in order to reduce the design
ecological impact.

4- Everyone is a Designer
It means that everyone is participant-designer, there is no one who is designer only or
participant only, the best design experience is achieved when there is no claim credit
for the solution by any one.

5- Make Nature Visible

through bringing back the designed environment to life, this is achieved by Making
natural cycles and processes visible, this occur when the design is integrated with
nature and is a reflection for it.
Commerz Bank

The building was completed in 1997 was considered as the world first green and
ecological building. It won the Green Building Award of the City of Frankfurt.

The building was designed in order to respond to prevailing winds and solar
orientation, the design ensure optimum ventilation and daylight penetration. The
building was designed to provide space natural ventilation for 60% of the year
through sky gardens which helped in reducing energy consumption by up to 50% if it
is compared to an equivalent air conditioned office. From 1st January 2008, the
Commerz bank Tower has been supplied with green energy driven from renewable
energy sources.
● The environmental architecture

The environmental architecture is the architecture of which its design respects

environment parameters. That means addressing surrounding environmental
parameters when designing a building.

- Five principles of an environmental architecture (Thomas A. Fisher, AIA,

November, 1992):

1- Healthful Interior Environment

All possible actions and measurements have to be taken in order to ensure that the
used building materials or systems do not emit toxic unhealthy substances or gases in
to the interior atmosphere. In addition to that, measurements are to be taken in
order to provide the maximum possible degree of fresh air good ventilation.

2- Energy Efficiency
All possible measurements and actions should be taken in order to minimize the
building usage of energy. In addition to that, the use of cooling, lighting and other
building systems should regard the concept of energy conservation

3- Ecologically Building Materials

All possible actions and measurements has to be taken in order to use safe renewable
sources that minimize the destruction of the global environment

4-Building Form
All possible actions and measurements have to be taken in order to design a building
that respond to the site, region, climate and local material. Accommodations are to
be made for recycling and energy efficiency. Measures are to be taken to relate the
form of building to a harmonious relationship between the inhabitants and nature.

5- Good Design
All possible actions and measurements has to be taken in order to have ad design that
host a good use of space, circulation, building form, building systems, with a proper
structure system and suitable construction method.
● The Hannover Principles

The Hannover principles were prepared in 1992 by William McDonough

Architects and Dr. Michael Braungart; commissioned by the City of Hannover,
Germany. As they design principles for Expo 2000, The World’s fair. The principles are:

1. Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist: where the environment

should be healthy, supportive ,with diverse and sustainable conditions
2. Recognize interdependence: where the human design elements depend upon
and interact with the natural world, at every scale, it has broad and diverse
implications. Design considerations expand to recognizing even distant effects.
3. Respect relationships between spirit and matter: where all aspects of human
settlement including community, dwelling, industry and trade are considered in
terms of existing and evolving connections between spiritual and material
consciousness.
4. Accept responsibility for the consequences of design: through having
responsibility for the decisions upon human well-being, the viability of natural
systems and their right to co-exist.
5. Create safe objects of long-term value: through the protection of the coming
generations from facing the results of any carless creation of product that require
maintenance or have any potential dangerous.
6. Eliminate the concept of waste: through evaluating and optimizing the full life
cycle of products and processes in order to approach the natural systems state.
7. Rely on natural energy flows: Through the designs that derive their creative
force from perpetual solar income, in addition to Incorporating this energy in an
efficient and responsible way
8. Understand the limitations of design. Where human creation never last forever,
so those who are responsible for any plan or creation should humility in the face
of nature. They should take nature as a model and mentor.
9. Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge: through the
encouragement of the direct and open communications between colleagues in
order to integrate the relationship between natural processes and human
activities.
● The Living Building challange
- ''Living Building'‘ is a new concept that has emerged as a new ideal for design and
construction. It has evolved as an international sustainable building certification
program created in 2006 by the non-profit International Living Future Institute.

- Jason McLennan CEO of CRGBC says :

“We view our role as the organization that is meant to ask the really tough questions,
to push the boundaries as far as possible.”

- USGBC defines a living building as a structure that “generates all of its own energy
with renewable nontoxic resources, captures and treats all of its water, and operates
efficiently and for maximum beauty.” Living Building Challenge comprises seven
performance areas: site, water, energy, health, materials, equity and beauty.

● strategic principles for sustainable practice measures