People talk about sustainability all the time, especially for those who specialise in built environments such as town planners, landscape designers, or architects. They are trying to seek a push to create buildings and spaces that do not require external energy to heat, cool or power them to achieve the nearly zero energy consumption on the buildings. Architecturally speaking, for a building, there has three aspects are important to consider: atmosphere, longevity, energy and equity. Firstly, the atmosphere of a building means the mood or feeling that it engenders. Is the lighting sufficiently? Is the air quality runs through the building? These are all about atmosphere. Secondly, the longevity, it plays an important role in sustainability. It is believed that design a building that will last and be of use for generations should be a major goal of any architect. Finally, reducing the energy impact of a built space is the most important consideration to be taken when constructing spaces. Usually building energy use comes in two forms: embodied energy and operating energy. Embodied energy is the energy required to create, transport and install the materials that make up a building, surprisingly make up a large portion of a building’s energy costs (less if the building lasts longer). Operating energy is the energy a building uses everyday to heat and cool a space, run appliances and power any electronics within (Moon 2007).
Reference:
Moon, G 2007, Introduction, Sustainable Architecture, pp.2-4, accessed 24 Oct 2011 from Pdx Living Building.
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