Concepts
“Using the resources available in the present without exhausting them and compromise the environment for future generations”
(Brundtland Report – 1987)
In 1987, the Brundtland Report (Our Common Future) was conceived the concept of sustainable development, thus making room for a new branch in architecture, that preaches a man’s interaction with the environment, using the elements and the available natural resources, preserving the planet for future generations, based on solutions socially just, economically viable and environmentally friendly.
Some guidelines to consider for sustainable construction.
• Think long-term planning the work;
• Energy efficiency;
• Proper use and reuse of water;
• Use of passive techniques of conditions and natural resources;
• Use of materials and environmentally friendly;
• Management of solid waste. recycle, reuse and reduce;
• Comfort and quality of internal environments;
• Permeability of the soil;
• Integrate mass transit and alternative or the project context.
There is a discussion about the concepts of sustainable construction. First it is not right to say simply that a work is sustainable or not. The characterization of the sustainability of a building comes from the process in which it was designed, executed, and the sum of the techniques used in relation to the environment and place. Thus, it is possible to say when compared with other construction that some project is more sustainable than the other.
Think of a building alone does not make sense when dealing with environmental issues such as the sustainability of the built by the man. Because it is systemic, the construction in order to be sustainable should be developed in a context, the outside is as important as what happens inside the premises. Therefore, the comparison is the best way to evaluate a sustainable construction, the work is never alone.
If a building meets all the technical prerequisites , respect all environmental ethic, use only appropriate materials and still not close inside, does not respecting the needs of the environment, not relating to the place where it operates, abstract the other buildings and people living nearby, is not being sustainable.
It may seem complicated, but there is no obligation to meet all the 4 technical requirements for a building to be sustainable. Otherwise, the houses would all be equal. In fact, the guidelines are a way to direct those who want to build a more environmentally responsible.
A sustainable work takes in account the process in which the project is designed, who will use the environment, how long wil bel your useful life and if, after all this time, it can be used for other purposes or not. All that concerns the materials used in it must take into account the need to waste the energy wasted in the process to be deployed in the construction and then, if these materials can be reused.
Self-sufficiency of the building should be taken into account. Often, some portion of energy can be generated on the spot and the water can be reused, so that in the long term to obtain substantial savings on electricity bills and water. Usually the external power produces greenhouse gases at some point in their production. In a broader context, providing its own energy causes the building to collaborate with the reduction of these gases.
A sustainable architecture should primarily takes into account the space that will be deployed. The natural features are extremely important for the design on these purposes. If respected, the geographical, weather, topography, combined with the social, economic and cultural place is defining how the building will be sustainable.
Thus, some solutions applied to a building in the field may not be sustainable elsewhere. For example, the first hypothesis can consider using materials of the place (wood, stone, earth, etc. …), it can get very expensive option for industrial parts, in addition to environmental impacts directly and indirectly.
Brazil, with the size of a continent, covers a variety of different climatic panoramas. A sustainable building should respect the environment where it operates.
By Fernando Bussoloti Architect and urban planner from the Universidade Mackenzie with experience in sustainable construction.