Urbanizations go green
According to the United States Energy Information Administration, residential buildings are responsible for 21% of energy consumption in the United States, while the construction and operation of buildings is responsible for 50% of the greenhouse gases generated by the country. . And according to Edward Mazria, an architect from Santa Fe, New Mexico, architects have a lot to answer for.
Mazria abandoned a lucrative career in architecture to establish Architecture 2030, a nonprofit that aims to challenge the construction industry to cut carbon emissions in half by 2010 and be carbon neutral by 2030. He also travels to the USA in an effort to increase awareness and responsibility for the responsibility of the construction sector in the current environmental crisis. To this end, he has written an eye-opening and informative white paper entitled “It’s Stupid Architecture.”
Mazria is not alone in his quest for green housing. Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen, partners in an architecture studio, consider themselves guerrillas fighting for a global cause, that is, reducing the negative impact that housing has on the environment. In 2006 they won a competition to design a zero-energy affordable housing development in cyclone-devastated New Orleans. His project is currently under construction and consists of houses and apartments that will be powered by solar panels and have built-in rainwater harvesting systems. They are also designed to take full advantage of natural ventilation and will be built with sustainable pre-fabricated materials.
In addition to their New Orleans project, Berman and Kotchen design energy-efficient homes tailor-made for the wealthiest members of society. As part of their green campaign, they are trying to change the way their customers perceive the state and space. While many of the wealthiest members of society attribute wealth and success to the amount of square footage they own, Berman and Kotchen try to persuade them that smaller is indeed better, and that they can have opulence, luxury, and good. design in a small space. space.
Wilfred Wang, one of America’s most colorful and controversial architects, says that for builders to save the planet they must stop building. Instead of designing new buildings, or tearing down existing buildings and replacing them with entirely new structures, he argues, architects should modernize existing buildings to make them more energy efficient.
In response to the environmental and energy crisis, many green housing projects have been proposed or implemented around the world. The Enchantment Way Development project was recently announced in Las Vegas. The project is part of the US Green Building Council’s pilot program to introduce green building techniques and energy efficient design to the region. Part of the project will be dedicated to creating a habitat for desert tortoises and protecting indigenous desert growth.
Britain has its first fully green development project at stake, with a proposed development in London’s Docklands. The project will include wind turbines, rainwater harvesting, organic fruit and vegetable gardens, solar panels, a cycle club and a car pool club. Austria has its own EcoCity, or Solar City, which uses modern insulation material and solar panels to reduce energy consumption and unique urban planning that places all the city’s facilities and services within walking distance of each other. Australia has the Aurora housing project that aims to deliver 8,000 energy efficient homes for 25,000 people in the next 20 years. And even India is getting in on the action with Kolkata’s Rabi Rashmi Abasan solar-powered housing complex.
Many people believe that the current downturn in the housing and construction market is exactly the boost green housing initiatives need to take center stage and bring their benefits to the attention of a desperate public. A report by McGraw-Hill Construction and the National Association of Home Builders reveals that the green housing market is expected to grow from $ 12 billion in 2008 to between $ 40 and $ 70 billion in 2012. This suggests that the projects Green homes will soon surpass traditional building methods in both popularity and profit margins.