THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT COEFFICIENT OF ARCHITECTURE AS A FACTOR IN THE FORMATION OF NATIONAL GREEN STANDARDS

Abstract

The article is an attempt to generalize and adapt to architectural science the cycles of research devoted to the problem of national green standards formation in the context of the exit of cities and adjacent regions “beyond growth”. This approach is based on cycles of research on sustainable functioning principles of Ukrainian cities, conducted by specialists of the Department of Innovative Technologies in the Design of the Architectural Environment of O.M. Beketov Kharkiv National University of Urban Economy. Results of these researches was the authors' conviction that the existing methods and tools for adapting the architectural component of Ukrainian cities to global challenges do not fully meet the requirements of the time. In particular, the existing world rating systems for assessing the impact of architecture on the environment in terms of content and form are a very powerful factor in the formation of eco-positive architecture, but do not reflect the whole picture of its impact on the ecological systems of regions. For this reason, we have launched research aimed at the formation of a national system of voluntary environmental buildings’ certification, based on the “Coefficient of the Ecological Footprint of Architecture”. This coefficient is compiled as the sum of the coefficients for all elements of an architectural object and reflects the dynamics of its functioning during the life cycle – from production to disposal. Thanks to such a change in the lending system, it becomes possible to determine the “Environmental deficit of the region” and, through it, the level of negative and positive impact of architectural objects on the environment.