The world of architecture seems to be going through a transition into a new phase; a phase where there is exponentially more exposure to new research, and new information every second. The result? Any process – no matter how simple or complex, is looked at through these newfound perspectives and scrutinized accordingly. Furthermore, issues that need to be discussed, and dialogues that need to happen are provided with a platform that has the power to bring about change. For instance, important topics like “Sustainability”, “Sustainable Architecture” that would otherwise be brushed aside as just ‘buzzwords’ are now looked at from a much more serious perspective.
How Sustainable Are Green Buildings?
Green Buildings are the hallmark of sustainability in architecture. The majority of present buildings now have sustainability or green architecture as an additional layer in their scope of design. Designs with higher energy efficiency and low carbon footprint seem to be on the rise. The processes are optimized to minimize the wastage of resources and reduce their negative impact on the environment. The climate responsiveness of a building is a major influence on its design – passive designs with innovative climate strategies seamlessly blended with the landscape are much more common, and they resonate with the people who are now well-informed and more mindful of the choices they make and the effect they have on the environment. But are green buildings really all that green? Or are these just participation medals given to buildings that tick the right boxes on the list of bare minimum efforts to be taken for a building to be stamped as a green building that promotes sustainable architecture? Is it a coincidence that most of these buildings are freshly constructed from the ground up and are already being called green even though they have yet to actually stand the test of time, and the test of sustainability? How green is a building, if an existing one has to be demolished completely for the new one to be erected?
What Green Buildings Are Meant To Be
To quote Michael Diamont, 2023 – “The greenest building is the one that people want to preserve.” This is the perspective that aligns wholly with the essence of sustainable architecture. Presently, if a certain building can no longer serve the function that it was being used for, it will most probably be demolished to be replaced by a newer, bigger building that will supposedly accommodate the use cases that are currently trending. The concept of repurposing a building to accommodate different functions through time seems to be fading into the background, to make space for modern designs that extract the maximum potential of the land they stand on, their function being secondary. “Adaptive Reuse” of older buildings seems to be very strictly confined within the bounds of architectural conservation of select heritage structures, when in reality it will be a huge contributing factor in achieving sustainability in this field, where buildings are demolished by the hundreds for new ones to be constructed, which essentially wasted the remaining potential lifespan of the demolished buildings. An effort needs to be made to evaluate and utilize the potential of older buildings by introducing newer activities and use cases that can be accommodated in existing built forms.
The Future of Sustainable Architecture
On the bright side, there exist practices that are pushing the boundaries of sustainability by undertaking the herculean task of research and experimentation on various technologies and materials until they achieve the desired results. They are the torchbearers, spearheading the world of architecture in the direction of sustainability. They are fully dedicated to their mission of ushering in designs that are just as immaculate, if not more than the latest trends, proving that sustainable architecture does not need to be bland, boring, and purely serving the function and nothing else. These alternative practices are not just limited to small-scale bungalows or farmhouses, they are bravely taking the challenge of achieving truly sustainable designs with even the larger scale buildings that make a significant impact on the present architectural landscape. Sustainable, sensitive architecture is no longer a buzzword. It is happening already, it is resonating with the people and it is here to stay, and practices like these prove exactly that –
Ar Vinu Daniel and his team – the Wallmakers are leading the pack in reinventing the wheel of sustainable and green architecture. Having recently gone viral for the “amphitheater on the roof” in one of their projects, the wallmakers are perhaps more widely known for working with compressed earth blocks, often made using the soil procured from the site itself, in many of their projects. The studio has put in years of effort to actually perfect the material, about a decade to be more specific. For instance, the same project, The Nisarga Art Hub, being an entirely load-bearing structure, was constructed using their patented mud wall and also features a cantilevered music studio block, resting on the load bearing mud wall. They do not shy away from structural challenges but rather push their experimentation with the materials to achieve the said structural requirements.
References List:
Cave of Apelles. (2023). How to Bring Back Beauty to a Confused Modern World | Michael Diamant & Carl Korsnes). [YouTube video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhxsXHApJl4 [Accessed: 28/12/2024].
Daniel, V (2023). @ar.vinudaniel [Instagram]. Written 8 October 2023. Available from: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyIIQMjuIGG/?img_index=8&igsh=MWxtOHA4eXZmZGllag== [Accessed 29 December 2023].
