What Is Sustainable Building Design, & How Is It the Future?
- Environment
Previously, we’ve written about the effects construction has had on natural resources. Growing concerns about climate change have forced many into action. The responsibility to reduce their environmental impact no longer falls solely on construction firms, but architects and building designers too.
Sustainability is the future of architecture, and today we discuss what this might look like.
What is sustainable building design?
Sustainable building design can be defined as one that is constantly evolving and has minimal impact on the environment.
If we were to analyse this further, a sustainable building is one where the structure and processes are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout the lifecycle of the building. That includes everything from design and construction, maintenance and renovation, right through to demolition.
A sustainable building is also designed to preserve the surrounding environment as much as possible, and subsequently using green energy methods, such as renewable energy to operate as a net producer, rather than a net consumer of resources.
Sustainable buildings are all around us. Worldwide examples include The Crystal in London, Bosco Verticale in Milan and Robinson Tower in Singapore.
Why is sustainable building design important?
Put simply, the Earth has a finite number of resources. The rise in construction developments, from new builds to office buildings and the need for new habits has seen natural resources and habits dwindle, with our planet being unable to match the pace of modernisation.
According to the UK Green Building Council, around 10% of the country’s carbon dioxide emissions are directly associated with ongoing construction activities, and going further, that number rises to 45% when you take into account the whole of the built environment sector.
But it isn’t just the construction process that is having an environmental impact. The majority of a building’s carbon footprint is from energy used in buildings. Heating alone represents 10% of the nation’s carbon footprint, with homes a more significant contributor than all other building types put together.
Switching to sustainable architecture brings about numerous benefits, not only to the environment, but also economic and social benefits, such as greener and a reduction in energy use. Other benefits include:
- Protection of the natural ecosystems and environmental biodiversity.
- Improvement in air and water quality.
- Competitive advantage, giving architects an opportunity to win business based on their sustainability pledges.
- Improvement in living conditions, health and comfort of building occupants.
6 important principles of sustainable building design
As sustainable architecture and green buildings have grown in popularity and naturally evolved over time, what has remained the same is 6 fundamental principles, which govern how sustainable buildings are designed and built. They are:
- Optimise site potential
- Optimise energy use
- Protect and conserve water
- Optimise building space and material use
- Enhance indoor environment quality
- Optimise operational and maintenance practices
Let’s look at each one in more detail.
1. Optimise site potential
Sustainable building design begins with selecting the site in which to build it on. This means researching the surrounding environment, and how the location and landscaping of your building-to-be might affect local ecosystems, energy use and so on.
The WBDG Sustainable Committee also suggests that the site of the sustainable building should look to reduce, control and/or treat storm-water runoff, and where possible, support the natural habit in the landscape design.
2. Optimise energy use
In a world where climate change is a hot topic at the forefront of news outlets and government policy, a building’s energy and resource use and the operational efficiency has become all the more important.
It’s important for sustainable buildings to find ways to reduce their energy load, and at the same time increase their energy efficiency and maximise the use of renewable energy. As climate change policy continues to evolve, more and more buildings are beginning to navigate turns operating at net-zero, as a pledge to significantly reduce their dependence on fossil fuels.
3. Protect and conserve water
The construction of a building can drastically reduce the ecological and hydrological function of the land in which it’s built upon, and so a sustainable building should look to minimise this and reduce those impacts.
It’s also important to, where possible, use water efficiently, such as reusing or recycling water for on-site use. Sewage treatments must also be planned, as these can have environmental and financial costs too.
4. Optimise building space and material use
It’s estimated the world’s population will continue to grow to more than 9 billion by 2050. As a result, demand for natural resources will also increase, which is why it is of utmost importance that a sustainable building is designed using sustainable building materials, to help minimise the environmental impacts such as resource depletion and toxicity.
This poses numerous benefits to all parties involved. For example, sustainable materials not only improve the lifecycle of the building, but they also reduce the impact on human health and contribute to improved occupant safety.
5. Enhance indoor environmental quality
Indoor environmental quality also has a significant impact on the health of a building’s occupants, as well as their comfort and level of productivity.
Sustainable buildings maximise the use of daylight, and implement appropriate ventilation and moisture control. It’s also important to optimise acoustic performance of the building, and give occupants control over lighting and temperature systems.
6. Optimise operational and maintenance practices
The ongoing operation and maintenance of a sustainable building focuses on reducing the impact of the building on the land. Here, it’s important to recruit and train maintenance personnel who are equipped to operate an increasingly sophisticated building.
It’s also important to track the process of any sustainability initiatives you have implemented, such as reduction in energy and water use, and so on.
Win more business with ISO 14001
If you’re looking to win more business and tenders by proving your building design and construction is sustainable, then take a look at our beginner’s guide to ISO 14001 for more information.