Sustainable Architecture

Sustainable architecture is the design of structures that require fewer natural resources and have a reduced impact on the environment. Because buildings account for 40% of worldwide energy consumption, this growing discipline has drawn attention from politicians, builders, and corporations. Skeptics of green architecture argue it isn't economically viable and the relative ecological benefit is negligible.

What is Sustainable Architecture

HOME ARCHITECTURE - Sustainable architecture is designing buildings keeping in mind environmental goals and sustainable development. The terms green architecture or green buildings are often used interchangeably with sustainable architecture to promote this definition further. In a broader sense and taking into account the pressing economic and political issues, sustainable architecture seeks to reduce the negative environmental impact of the buildings by increasing efficiency and moderation in the utilization of building materials, energy and development space. Similarly, green architecture denotes economical,...

Is Building Green Profitable?

WORLD CHANGING - The development of credible valuation measures for ecological services, which Alex and others have written about here is incredibly important for sustainability. Environmental thinkers like Hawken and Lovins have long argued for market players and the market system to pay for the true costs of externalities and environmental inputs like water, soil quality, and air -- inputs which were often used free, or almost free, of charge -- and thus a form of subsidy. Until recently, putting numbers on the environment costs of these activities was hard to do because the quality of measures were poor and...

Top Five Ecological Skyscrapers

BIZCOVERING - Today's ecological skyscrapers belong to an emerging area of design research in which the environmental impact of the building and issues of sustainability influence every scale and system of a tall building. Recent concerns with environmental issues have prompted skyscraper designs that employ a range of strategies to conserve energy, minimize buildings' impact on their surroundings, and ensure that the building materials used to construct them will be recyclable in the future. A few design firms are taking the lead in this area of design research, designing buildings in which the design's...

1.11.08

11:38 AM -

Why not...

conrad - I would love to be able to go up on the roof of my building and see some sort of jungle. Plus I'm sure with the tax credits it will make money. And who wouldn't like an evil corporation that much more if it had gone green.

09:40 AM -

Anonymous - Green construction is not always profitable (well, maybe it is for the construction companies). It's like a hybrid car - the costs are so front loaded and it's not always advantageous for a company in the medium term - and only established/large corporations can be thinking long term

01:22 AM -

Go Green! Make Money.

stickywicket - It is actually amazing how profitable green construction has become. Now that it is so fashionable, you can charge a premium for green buildings, you can get a ton of good branding, you save a ton of money in all of these new tax credits, and most green technologies are upfront costs that save you money in the long run. It's only a matter of having a few people prove the viability before it sweeps the country.

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