The purpose of sustainable architecture is to: “eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skillful, sensitive design.”
Considerable thought about how the project will affect the environment begins the sustainable design process. Beyond eliminating adverse environmental impact, any sustainable design must create projects that are meaningful innovations that can shift behavior; a dynamic balance between economy and society, generating long-term relationships between user and building, which is respectful of the environmental and social differences.
Relieving over-stressed resources requires reducing pressure on them, not continually increasing them, whether more efficiently or not. Best is a greater reliance on natural materials that are compatible with the environment.
Sustainable applications and principles require the use of:
- Non-toxic, energy-efficient and sustainably produced materials.
- Emotionally durable architecture to reduce the consumption and waste of resources which increases the relationship durability between people and the design.
- Design influence measures for total carbon footprint and life-cycle assessment of the resources based on sustainable standards.
- The Constructal Law, which is a physics principle that urges the use of sustainability and evolutionary design in general.
Globally supported, the concept of sustainable design is the ultimate environmentally responsive goal. Any person looking to construct a building from the ground up or remodel an existing building should seek out the advice of a professional architect. Not any architect, but one who is respectful of sustainable design. The interdependence between human design and the impact on the natural world demands co-existence in a healthy, supportive and lasting way.
Scott Henson, a full-service Architectural firm, knows sustainable design. Ask how he can update your environment in a responsible way. Contact Scott Henson today.
