Principles of Environmentally Responsible Architecture
Before we explore responsible architecture, we first must understand what it means to be a responsible architect. Responsible architecture focuses on two areas that I will cover in this blog: environmental responsibility and social responsibility. Let’s begin by defining what it means for an architect to be environmentally responsible.
Environmentally responsible architects minimize the negative environmental effects of structures by utilizing elements of sustainable design.
Key principles of environmentally responsible architecture include:
- Energy Efficiency
- Lowering a building’s consumption of energy by using: natural lighting, passive solar design principles, energy-efficient appliances, intelligent lighting systems, solar or wind-generated power
- To maximize natural light, architects must consider orientation and building layout, window placement and size, light shelves or light scoops to capture and redirect natural light, skylights, atriums, interior glazing, and open floor plans
- Lowering a building’s consumption of energy by using: natural lighting, passive solar design principles, energy-efficient appliances, intelligent lighting systems, solar or wind-generated power
- Water Conservation
- Specifying water-efficient fixtures, rainwater harvesting systems, graywater recycling, low-water landscaping
- Sustainable Materials
- Selecting materials with low embodied energy throughout their lifecycle, environmentally friendly and recycled materials, sustainably sourced wood, and low-emission products
- Examples of materials with low embodied energy throughout their lifecycle include wood, straw bale (used for insulation and wall construction), rammed earth, hempcrete, cork, recycled materials (like metal, wood, salvaged bricks, reclaimed glass or plastic), or earthen materials like adobe
- Selecting materials with low embodied energy throughout their lifecycle, environmentally friendly and recycled materials, sustainably sourced wood, and low-emission products
- Waste Reduction and Recycling
- Encouraging reusing materials, minimizing construction waste, and recycling what can’t be reused
- Life Cycle Assessment
- Determining the environmental impacts of the building for its entire life cycle
- Requires data on material inventories, energy consumption, and waste management; Likely requires input from engineers, sustainability consultants, or experts in Life Cycle Assessment
- Determining the environmental impacts of the building for its entire life cycle
- Sustainable Site Planning
- Prioritizing keeping existing vegetation, mitigating stormwater runoff, and promoting biodiversity (working together with a landscape architect)
- Green Certifications
- Seeking green building certifications such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method)
