Climate & Environment
Sustainable Architecture
Definition
Sustainable architecture is the practice of designing buildings and the spaces between them to minimise resource use and environmental harm across their whole life while supporting human health and wellbeing: passive solar design and natural ventilation, low-embodied-carbon materials, energy and water efficiency, renewable integration, adaptability and end-of-life reuse. It is codified in certification systems (LEED, BREEAM, DGNB) and increasingly in regulation (EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive's zero-emission building standard).
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Architecture” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The discipline structures building design practice, green building certification, public procurement of buildings, and building code development worldwide.
Why it matters
The buildings being designed today will stand in 2100; sustainable architecture decides whether they are part of the solution or stranded problems.