INT61_2 Sustainability_and_Ethics - ELENA ZAHN

INT61_2 Sustainability and Ethics Elena Zahn

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In the early 1970s a wider public began to grasp what the scientist had light upon. The only problem was, that some studies predicted a cooling and others a warming of the planet. No one knew what to believe and people were left confused. The confusion was cleared during the hot summer of 1988, when an international meeting of scientist warned of the risks of man-made greenhouse gases and finally people would listen.

You might have heard … … it will get warmer. Humans have caused the worlds average temperature to rise, and it will continue to do so, if we don’t change. We know it under the title »global warming«. A rather harmless term, for one of the greatest threats to our existence. Its term might be its biggest hindrance. Most people enjoy warm summers and wouldn’t mind milder winters either. Nobody seems to be scared of it, even though the consequences of a changing climate are proven and will impact the lives of millions within the next decades.

A big demand for more research was there, but the scientist struggled to reproduce models of the complex climate system that explain the link between carbon dioxide and the constant temperature rise. Thanks to improved computer models and abundance of data, the conclusion that human activities causing serious damage to our climate system was confirmed in 2001 by the national science academies from all major nations.

Since then the Intergovernmental Panels on Climate Change (IPCC) are regular published to summarize the current research state of the climate change.

This is why I choose to call it, what is actually is the »climate crisis«. In the following pages I will break down what is means, what we can do about it and most importantly how architecture contributes its part to the global threat.

What is the »climate crisis«?

The greenhouse effect Sun rays are absorbed and trapped into the Erath’s atmosphere and re-radiated by a shield of greenhouse gases.

Guy Stewart Callendar British scientist 1

Our story starts in 1896 when a Swedish scientist emerged with a new concept: burned fossil fuels add carbon dioxide (Co 2) to the wold’s atmosphere, creating a thicker shield that is trapping heat in our atmosphere (1). The extra heat could be changing the climate on our planet and temperatures would rise. At this time however, people thought it was impossible that humans could make a profound difference in vast climate cycles and the theory was almost forgotten until in the 1930s first changes became visible. The North Atlantic region had warmed significantly during the previous half century.

Guy Stewart Callendar, a British scientist raised concerns by publishing a paper »The Artificial Production of Carbon Dioxide and its Influence on Temperature« in 1938 where he states »By fuel combustion man has added about 150,000 million tons of carbon dioxide to the air during the past half century.« and »The temperature observations a t zoo meteorological stations are used to show that world temperatures have actually increased at an average rate of 0.005 °C per year during the past half century.« (2,3). Over two decades later Callendar’s claims were finally getting more recognition from other scientist. Thanks to government funding, newer technologies and improved calculation researcher Charles David Keeling was able to confirm Callendar’s findings (4). The amount of Co2 atmosphere had detectable risen, year by year. It is it demonstrated in the Keeling Curve (5).

The harsh truth is that the climate crisis is not just a story. It is our reality. It is not a future scenario.

Furthermore, it has already happened and is affecting millions of people today.

The Artificial Production of Carbon Dioxide and its Influence on Temperature by G. S. Callendar

We have reached a bio capacity deficit A biocapacity deficit occurs when a population uses more natural resources than available of the area to the population. Each country has a different biocapacity available to each citizen (6).

The countries marked in red have a negative biocapacity:

Demonstrators on the first Earth Day, Union Square, New York, 22. April 1970 Countries with the highest bio capacity deficit include: Singapore Bermuda Réunion Israel Barbados Cayman Islands Bahrain United Arab Emirates Kuwait ...

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What are the consequences of the climate crisis?

What prevents us from reaching the goal?

Most of the predictions of the effects of climate change can already seen today. If we take a look at the heat waves of the recent decades in Europe, we find correlation between to the shrinking of Arctic ice and Eurasien snow cover (7). The Australian bush fires shows us the tremendous effects of climate change on our weather conditions. A Study (8) shows that global warming contributes to a 30 % higher risk for weather conditions that trigger wildfires. According to Nasa (9), we can expect several other issues:

many effects of climate change can be seen today: heat waves in Europe and wild fires in Australia

1. Political failure So far very little governmental action has been taken to reach our communal goals. Some children filed charges against governments for endangering their future (11).

3. Ignorance Most people are poorly informed on the changes we are facing due to global warming. The topic is not adequately revised in schools and educational programs.

2. Compromising for sustainability Currently, sustainability means making a compromise.

You have to dispense in some way or spent more money in order to be environmentally friendly. There are only a few situations where someone is benefiting personally from acting sustainable. And that is the problem.

The legislation should be structured in a way, that sustainability becomes desirable.

4. Lack of technology and options There are many innovative solutions for sustained materials, recycling and the reduction of greenhouse gases. However, most of them are not fully refined nor operational. For a new product to get on the marked multiple certifications, regiments and testings are necessary. Many great ideas abort here.

How does architecture play a role in this?

Lengthening of frost-free and growing seasons

Change in precipitation pattern

More droughts and heat waves

Buildings and their construction together account for nearly 40 % of global carbon dioxide emissions annually according to the United Nations Environment Program (12) . What makes things worse is the fast rate of growth in these emissions. It is estimated that yearly that they will continue to grow 2.5 % yearly for commercial buildings and 1.7 % for residential buildings.

Co2 emissions from buildings including the use of electricity.

Dark red: histroric emissions Light: projections from 2000 2030 Source: Levine et al 2007

These emissions occur through fossil-fuel based energy that is used through:

Stronger hurricanes

Rise of the sea level

How will our world look like by 2050?

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The acting are likely to disrupt the world ecosystem, making some party of the plant uninhabitable. A Groundswell (10) report states: »climate change will push tens of millions of people to migrate within their countries by 2050. It projects that without concrete climate and development action, just over 143 million people—or around 2.8 percent of the population of these three regions—could be forced to move within their own countries to escape the slow-onset impacts of climate change.«. The only solution are »significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and robust development action« the report suggests. If we do not change and co2 emissions stay as they are, within nine years we can

Ice-free Arctic

expect the damage to be so severe, that temperature rise will exceed TWO Degrees globally (This will multiply on the land) If that happens, there is no reverse. We will be constrained in a downward spiral. Heat waves, droughts, fires and the loss of sea ice will not reflect the heat instead it will be absorbed into the dark blue ocean and therefore accelerate global warming. Our actions and choices of the next nine years will determine our and our children’s destiny. A fully compatible and realistic plan has been sorted out and agreed to in the Paris Agreement. It is a scientific masterpiece. 55 Countries agreed they are going to work towards the goal of a temperature rise limit of 1.5 ̊C (right now it is 1.2 ̊C ).

The report states that we have to cut c02 emissions by 55 %. This is based on a calculation on how much co2 can be released into the atmosphere until the 1.5 goal is exceeded.

Construction

Manufacturing of building materials

Transport of materials

Studies suggest that over 80 % of total greenhouse gas emissions take place in the operation of the building Demolition of the building

Buildings operation 4

Reducing co2 emissions in architecture

How to design a ZEB building •

Most importantly architects have to target the operational phase of the building to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as the account for approximately 80 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in architecture. If we succeed, and even manage to make negative energy buildings the new norm, we can conserve up to 40% of the global c02 emissions and save us more time for new technologies to attain a complete net zero emissions lifestyle.

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»The most cost-effective steps toward a reduction in a building’s energy consumption usually occur during the design process.« - (The Energy Policy Pyramid, A Hierarchal Tool For Decision Makers, Robin K. Vieira, Director, Building Research Division Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC))

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Limiting co2 emissions of the supply chain of materials and during construction Using materials that have atmospheric carbon stored Designing to minimize emissions of greenhouse gases during the operational phase Adapting the structure to the climate through the best ventilation and isolation techniques Making the structure durable, resilient, lowmaintenance Generating electricity on the site and collecting rainwater on the site Adapting the design to the landscape and neighborhood, while considering wind, shade and the sun path Using low energy consumption home appliances, such as LED lights, high efficient stoves, air conditioners, heaters and cleaning machines

Suitable materials for ZEB buildings

Taisei’s zero-energy building in Yokohama, Japan

• Timber (13) Timber wood stores cabin dioxide and can easily be recycled at the end of the building’s lifespan. Several products for architecture can be made from timber, such as Cross-laminated timber (CLT) , Plywood, Oriented strand board (OSB), wood beams, ...

Aiming for ZEB buildings Zero Emissions Buildings, short (ZEB) are building that are able to produce the energy they need and needed during construction by using renewable energy generating technologies. Going a step further there have been several cases of carbon dioxide negative buildings that are generating more energy than they need and therefore manage to give back.

• Flax, hemp and seagrass (14) Mats made from flax, hemp or seagrass can be used for efficient and durable thermal isolation.

• Jute (15) Jute can be used for carpets, as surface reinforcement for all clay plasters or for Scrim.

• Reed and Straw (16) Reed and straw ca be used for isolation of walls and roofs.

• Clay (17) Clay can be used for walls and wall finishings.

• Bamboo (18) Bamboo can last for up to 60 years and is known as the fastest-growing plant in the world. It has a higher compressive strength than concrete or wood as well as the tensility of steel.

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Unité d’Habitation

Spatial organization of the units

by Le Corbusier

To meet the requirements Le Courbier structured the layout of the 18 floors to maximize the space. The residential units would range over two floors and interlock with each other so that only one corridor within three floors is necessary.

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Each color represents one unit, the corridors are in the middle

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he design After the second world war, France was in need of housing and reconstruction. Le Corbusier who at that time was a famed architect was asked to design a multi-family residential housing project in Marseille for people this home has been affected by the bombings (19).

Le Corbusier studied communal living and came up with a solution where inhabitant could live, play, shop and come together in a vertical garden all within one building.

In total, five residential projects have been constructed with Le Corbusier innovative approach. Unite d’ Habitation Marseille was the first of them and has been completed in 1952.

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The building had to accommodate 1600 residents, including private spaces, community spaces, shops, restaurants, a gym and a vertical garden, a club, a kindergarten, a hotel, medical facilities as well as the large roof terrace with a swimming pool. In short, it is meant to be a city within a city. »The ’street’ as we know it has now disappeared. All the various sporting activities take place directly outside people’s homes, in the midst of parks- trees, lawns and lakes. The city is entirely green; it’s a Green City. Not one inhabitant occupies a room without sunlight; everyone looks out on trees and sky« -Le Corbusier, La Ville Radieuse 1964 .p94.

Interior

Exterior

The floorplan of the units is narrow and structure for maximum use of space. The rooms can adapt with movable walls.

The residential units offered an American kitchen, electricity and TV connection, which was a luxury at that time (20). The rooms are designed ergonomically, respecting the daily activities and routines of the habitants.

The facade is constructed from reinforced concrete. It appears as a floating cruise ship because of its volume and the 232 m long structure.

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Why it did not work?

“A machine, a piece of furniture or a newspaper are extensions of man. And architecture, and as a result every object created for man, must not only impact on a mental or emotional level but also on a more physical or bodily level”.

-Le Corbusier Le Corbusier hoped to develop the perfect home for citizens. However, his approach has been dismissed by most people. The design had no room for flexibility and was too controlling on people’s lives. The community in Unité d’Habitation was disconnected from the rest of the town and lived too enclosed, especially the children.

Sources: 1. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/discovery-of-global-warming/ 2. https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/features/nov07.shtml 3. https://www.rmets.org/sites/default/files/qjcallender38.pdf 4. https://history.aip.org/climate/Kfunds.htm#DKeeling61 5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeling_Curve 6. https://data.footprintnetwork.org/ 7. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41612-020-0110-8 8. https://nhess.copernicus.org/articles/21/941/2021/ 9. https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/ 10. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29461 11. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canadian-teens-lawsuit-federal-government-overclimate-change-1.5335349 12. https://www.uncclearn.org/wp-content/uploads/library/unep207.pdf 13. https://energycentral.com/c/ec/its-time-make-carbon-negative-buildings-norm 14. https://blog.allplan.com/en/environmentally-friendly-insulating-materials 15. https://www.claytec.de/en/products/clay-plaster/hessian-mesh_pid192 16. https://www.dezeen.com/2010/08/25/casa-areia-by-aires-mateus-architects/, https://criticalconcrete.com/ reed-in-architecture/ 17. https://www.lehmtonerde.at/en/martin-rauch/ 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboo_construction 19. https://www.archdaily.com/85971/ad-classics-unite-d-habitation-le-corbusier 20.

Channelbeta - Le Corbusier - Unité d’Habitation Marseille pt 1

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