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Sustainability

Introduction

If we are going to build, then it has to be done sustainably; there is not any alternative. We do not believe contemporary architecture is truly sustainable at present; many modern buildings have been designed to minimise their environmental impact, but with their complex technologies they often do not perform as well as their historic counterparts. Low-energy technologies are expensive, complicated and demanding to maintain, and have an unknown lifespan. Designers like gadgets but users find them perplexing, and if they go even slightly wrong their benefit can be entirely lost. Complexity is the enemy of longevity, and so too of sustainability, so simple passive solutions will last the longest and need to be a fundamental ingredient of how we should be designing long-life buildings.

Sustainability is not a new concern

Giving priority to the effects of human behaviour on nature, to conserving natural resources and planning for the long term is as old as civilisation. It only appears to be new because in the twentieth century it seemed as if science and technology had freed us from many of the limitations arising from our natural context. Not much more than a century ago we had no electricity, central heating or air-conditioning, no cars or aeroplanes. Our enthusiasm for the freedom we have been given by the products of industrialisation seems to have blinded us to their long term effects, leading us to behave as if the resources of raw materials, energy, food and water available to us were limitless. In designing our buildings and settlements now we need to understand what has gone wrong with our approach over the last hundred years or so, and how to put it right, combining new ideas with the experience of our predecessors.

The need to return to dense, mixed use planning

Dense, mixed-use settlement:- POUNDBURY PHASE ONE, Duchy of Cornwall.

Masterplan Leon Krier. Coordinating architect: Peterjohn Smyth

Perhaps the most significant bad planning habit of the twentieth century was the fashion, made possible by much better transport, for low density planning and segregation of uses which came as a reaction against the poor living conditions in the nineteenth century industrial towns. The results of this fashion have been devastating: in the new suburbs people have to use their cars for almost every activity; community life has been undermined; and huge quantities of agricultural land have been wasted. So it is now urgent to reverse the process, returning to the traditions of dense urban settlements which mix uses together. These traditions not only make it possible for people to get from home to work, school, shops, etc. on foot or cycle, but encourage personal contacts and therefore social cohesion. And because the buildings are planned very compactly, they shelter each other from the wind, and lessen the heat loss resulting from the high surface areas of detached and semi-detached buildings.

"Long life, loose-fit, low energy"

Recent buildings often turn out to be surprisingly shortlived, while their older neighbours continue. The reasons are sometimes poor construction, sometimes insufficiently flexible building form, sometimes inadequate floor heights. We must revive the "long life, low energy, loose fit" approach pioneered in the 1970's. Here again we can learn from dense traditional settlements where the buildings were usually robust and unspecific enough to last for very long periods and to be adapted to different uses over their lifetimes.

Thermal insulation and thermal mass

Good thermal insulation is clearly vital, but if it is to be fully effective the building fabric must be both properly sealed and of sufficient thermal mass to even out temperatures between day and night, summer and winter. It is easier to achieve high insulation standards with lightweight construction but if the forecast increase in global temperatures takes place, northern Europe may well acquire a Mediterranean climate in which heavy construction with high thermal mass is essential to achieve reasonably cool summer temperatures.

Surface water drainage and risk of flooding

The piped drainage systems introduced in the nineteenth century had enormous public health benefits, but the argument for them for the disposal of rainwater (as opposed to foul sewerage) is less obvious; not only can it cause flooding problems, but it also removes water that would normally percolate into the ground so reducing the natural watertable and the level of water in underground aquifers. Where possible we should use permeable surfaces and revive the use of pipeless systems such as soakaways and open channels running along streets and lanes to streams or rivers.

The importance of natural lighting and ventilation

Another bad habit of the last century was the tendency to design certain types of building, typically offices and shops in deep plan forms which rely on artificial lighting and ventilationǐ Clearly we need to return to designs which limit buildings depths sufficiently to allow natural light and air to penetrate them effectively. Window proportions are particularly critical in this respect. In contrast to the wide, shallow glazing common in modern commercial buildings, the tall, narrow shape of a typical traditional window throws light and air deep into a room while keeping the glazed area and therefore both heat loss and heat gain to a minimum.

Embodied energy

This is another area in which modern building is often less sustainable than its predecessors. Materials like steel, aluminium, cement and plastic use a great deal of energy in both their manufacture and their transport over long distances from factory to site. Stone, brick, clay tiles, lime and wood in contrast can be produced relatively locally in an energy efficient way. Embodied energy is also saved by using second-hand materials, which often have the bonus of a particularly attractive appearance.

Second hand clay tiles were used to roof our houses in Luccombe

which won the national Design in the Countryside Award in 1992.

Continued on page two...

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