A Brief History of Sustainable Building Design

Sustainable Building Design Brief Historic View

Ecology, Sociology & Technology Anthony M. Catsimatides, AIA April 08, 2008

A Way of Thinking

Ryoan Ji Garden, The Temple of the Peaceful Dragon, in Kyoto, Japan shrine and stone garden, paradise brought to the world as groups of imaginary islands represented by Horai stones, a sense of borrowed scenery site dates back to 983, garden 14th C.

Central Park, NYC

Le Corbusier on transformation

Lindos of Rhodes

Susan Maxman 1993 AIA President “Sustainable Architecture isn’t a prescription.

It’s an approach, an attitude. It shouldn’t really even have a label. It should just be Architecture”

Rachel Carson – Biologist with U.S. Bureau of Fisheries – Silent Spring, 1962 – Effects of DDT on the birds and the environment

Launch of Modern Environment Movement in the West & Globally

Environmental Movement • Environmentalist – During the 1960s, reject the modern world of large scale technological systems (corporations, political) in favor of a simpler, more primitive, and environmentally conscious lifestyle

• Counter Culture – opposition to corporate greed and American political system • Protests in support of native species, plants and animals

Paolo Soleri, 1919 –

Arcology: City in the Image of Man, 1961

Mesa City, 1961

Arcosanti 1970 –

Blue Marble December 7, 1972 Apollo 17 29,000 kilometres 18,000 statute miles

Endangered Species Act of 1973 which was signed

by Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973

Northern Spotted Owl of Pacific Northwest From Northern California to British Columbia

UK

1973-1974

US

OIL CRISIS

Arab members of OPEC refused to send oil to countries that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War

Green Politics Sierra Club, San Francisco, 1892 German Greens, Germany, 1970’s Anti-Nuclear Environmentalists Peace Activists Ecology Party, Coventry, UK, 1973 Manifesto for a Sustainable Society Green Party, United States, 1980’s Ralph Nader received 2.7% presidential vote 2000

Reports & Commissions • Club of Rome – 1972 – Predictions of population growth

• Brandt Commission – William Brandt Social Democratic Party of the Federal Republic of Germany – 1977 Speech

• Brundtland Report “Our Common Future” – 1987 – UN Council, Chairman Gro Harlem Brundtland

• Earth Summit Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1992 – Theoretical ideas investigated

• Agenda 21 – Earth Summit Sarrado Mar Brazil 1992 – Application of theories, put into Practice – ‘Halt and reverse environmental damage’

Brundtland Report “Our Common Future” Gro Harlem Brundtland March 20, 1987 “A global agenda for Change”

Triple Bottom Line • Ecology = Planet • Sociology = People • Economy (Technology) = Profit – Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, 1999 Paul Hawkens with Armory Lovins, Hunter Lovins founded Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass Colorado 1978

“For the human race to continue indefinitely, the environmental impact must be less than or equal to the level the world can sustain” Williamson, Terry, “Understanding Sustainable Architecture”

Commerzbank by Norman Foster, Completed 1997 Atrium of the Commerzbank showing sky gardens, above. The exterior skin of the building is designed with a double skin glass faรงade as shown on right. Expanding the meaning and role of the double skin glass faรงade, the sky gardens can be thought of as the interstitial space of an even larger width cavity.

Sustainable Building Design Strategies

Swiss Re Tower, London, England

by Norman Foster Associates 1997 - 2004

Swiss Re Tower, London, England

by Norman Foster Associates 1997 - 2004

Green Roof Strategy

The Gap 901 Cherry Street, San Bruno, CA

by William McDonough + Partners Completed 1997

Sustainable Building Design Strategies

Office building in Recanati, Italy

by Mario Cucinnella

Sustainable Building Design Strategies

Office building in Recanati, Italy

by Mario Cucinnella

Why Energy Efficient Technology • Support for Green Initiatives – Part of a larger scope, sustainable design

• External Driving Forces – Depleting Fossil Fuel (oil, coal, natural gas) – High cost of energy and escalating

Debis Building, Berlin, Potzdamerplatz Renzo Piano, 1998

• Growing interest in energy efficient buildings – Energy Efficiency driving goal

• Harness power of wind & sun

Global Warming • Greenhouse gases • Americans will use 44,000 pounds of CO2 per capita this year – Over three times world average

• We should strive for zero carbon dioxide emissions for our buildings – – – –

Rainwater storage Thermal loops Reclaimed water Solar & wind generated energy

Global Warming • 40% of all energy consumed in the US is for commercial and residential buildings • Government regulations need to address energy conservation measures to a greater degree • As energy prices climb higher, Greening becomes more economically feasible

Within the Framework of Sustainable Building • Risks • Buildings Consume – Raw Material – Energy – Capital

• Buildings Exhume – Pollutants

• Architects have a specific and significant roll in reducing risk

Sustainable Building Design • Nature of Architectural Decision Making • Contemporary concerns about effects of human activity – pollutants caused by human habitation

• Energy consumption – concept of reducing reliance on natural resources and fossil fuels – Dependence on renewable energy – Solar & Wind

Value of Green Building • Green Building can add a premium to building value • Productivity in ‘healthy’ buildings can account for .5% to 5% higher productivity • Green construction costs range from 2% to 10% higher than total cost of standard construction • Greater Occupant Comfort using less energy

ARAG 2000 Tower, Dusseldorf, by RKW

Greg Katz Study for The Sustainable Building Task Force, over 40 California state government agencies, 2001

Benefits of Green Thinking • Support of Healthy Buildings – Natural Ventilation – Indoor Air Quality

• Better Building Envelope Performance • Reduction of energy consumption • Measure towards LEED™ certification

GSW, Berlin, Sauerbruch & Hutton

Considerations for Greening • Higher up front construction costs, – Approximately 20% to 50% higher per square foot of glazing

• Higher design fees • More planning time • Lack of government support, (till recently) - legislation • About 5% to 25% higher maintenance costs than standard curtain walls

Wind Strategy

Sun, Wind & Light

by G.Z. Brown & Mark DeKay

Solar Strategy

Sun, Wind & Light

by G.Z. Brown & Mark DeKay

Electric Lighting

Sun, Wind & Light

by G.Z. Brown & Mark DeKay

Intelligent Design • Intelligent Building Design – Smart systems reacting to environmental conditions

• Intelligent Skins – Smart envelopes reacting to environmental conditions

RWE Headquarters, Essen, Germany Ingerhoven Overdiek Kahlen & Partners

Solar Strategy

Net Present Value

Net present value is the “present” value of an investment’s future financial benefit over a defined time interval, minus any initial investment cost.

Where: - “Co” is the value of any initial investment (usually a negative value).

- “ratei” is the constant “cost of capital” per unit of time (x.x%/yr).

- “n” is the number of time units (i.e. years) over which value is being calculated.

- “valuei” is the constant investment return per unit of time (in dollars).

Energy Conscious Building Design •

Renewable Energy

•

– Sun & Wind

•

– – – –

Non Renewable Energy – Fossil Fuels – (Oil, Coal, Natural Gas)

•

Solar – – – – –

•

– Natural Ventilation – Wind Turbines

•

•

Ground – Geothermal Energy

•

Turbines Rainwater storage Reclaimed water Solar & wind generated energy

Building Shells – – – – –

Passive Solar Energy Solar Hot Water Systems Photovoltaic Cells Natural Daylighting Thermal Massing

Wind

Water

Double Skin Glass Façades Ceramic Building Shells Photovoltaic Glazing Panels Spray Foam Insulations Cotton Fiber Insulations

Mechanical Systems – Radiant Floor/Ceiling Heating/Cooling – Thermal loops