Chapter 29 - Technologies for Sustainable Buildings

Abstract

Buildings have individual and collective, direct and indirect, impacts on the environment both present and future. Each building, by occupying land, alters the ground and vegetation; changes water courses and wildlife habitats; and in both construction and use, consume resources, labor, materials and fuel for power, heating, and maintenance. Within the European Union it has been estimated that buildings consume about 40% of energy, produce 30% of carbon dioxide emissions and generate 40% of waste materials. Sustainable construction is thus the “creation and responsible tenure of a healthy built environment based on resource efficient and ecological principles.” This is accomplished through the adoption of a holistic view of the world and human interactions with it, under which every function is cognizant of and within the limits of both the local and global ecosystems. This perspective has been summed-up by the phrase “think global, act local”. The selection by designers of building component technologies can be conservative, which hinders the introduction of new technologies. Though often arising from unproven long-term performance of innovative systems, this conservatism is driven frequently by designer's actual or perceived expectations of clients' needs. Major clients are thus, by explicit communication of their wish for sustainable buildings, able to encourage the development and implementation of underlying technologies.