The week 8 lecture explored the concept that ‘Greening isn’t necessarily sustainable’. This concept has already been bought to attention in an earlier reading regarding the up rise in companies using ‘green’ initiatives in a move to increase business. Key to all of the arguments is the concept of the triple bottom line. For a fully sustainable system to be achieved, the environment, economy and society have to be sustainable. So, while greening may be undertaken to improve the ‘sustainability’ of a building/environment, if it occurs at the expense of the society and/or the economy than the overall sustainability may not be improved.
An example of this is the promotion of pre-fabricated construction and automated construction technologies. While these systems may be quick and futuristic thought for the builders and industries who will be replaced by such technologies must be taken into account. Not to mention the societal benefits gained from completing a building.
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| Image 1: Structural Oscillations (http://dfab.arch.ethz.ch/web/e/forschung/142.html) |
Some other issues raised regarding the sustainability of a project are listed below and impact the built environment lifecycle.
- Embodied energy,
- Transportation,
- Construction,
- Maintanance,
- Adaptability,
- Lifespan,
- Disassembly,
- Recyclability.
Materials play a massive role in the success of all the above attributes to a project. For instance Metal may need to be transported a long distance, has a large amount of embodied energy and is very rigid creating problems with adaptability. Therefore an integral part of the final proposition will be the materials used within and surrounding the building.
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