Green, Sustainable and energy efficient architecture is often interchangeably used when spoken about smart buildings, when in reality they are distinct elements that all contribute towards helping save the ecological footprint. Lets talk about what each of them really mean and how they contribute:
Green Architecture
Architecture that follows and practices the use of eco-friendly materials and reduces the footprint left on the environment through various techniques and methods is often termed green architecture. It predominantly refers to short term methods that can be implemented for the very near future or the existing situation.
It emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic equipment, and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and reduction of rainwater run-off. It also includes use of renewable raw materials in a manner where the usage and construction method is optimized and profits are maximized.
Sustainable Architecture
Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment. Sustainability refers to a deeper understanding of long term solutions that seek to minimize the negative environmental impact. It is a broader classification under which green architecture is one among many.
The foremost outcome expected from sustainability is to consume a minimal amount of non-renewable resources, cut down waste, and develop a functional and productive environment. To put this simply, it can be said that sustainability is a long term solution derived through analysis and smart use of existing supplies. It is an investment that seeps into the future, rather than any immediate results.
Energy Efficiency
You turn off the lights when you are not using a room, is that energy efficiency? Or is it the smart use of thermal insulation? Is it designing in a manner where natural lighting and ventilation is maximized? Concisely put, it is all of it, a design which adheres to maximizing natural heating, ventilation, and lighting, as well as use of IOT, as well as air quality index, and also façade and material treatment.
It refers to specific use and methodology with which energy is conserved or recycled in a building, sustainable buildings are energy efficient, but energy efficient buildings need not be sustainable. Efficiency can be achieved manually, through human control, or can be automated through BAS.
For easy understanding let me put it this way, supposing you are looking to do floors, green definition would say ensure that there are no harmful chemicals like VOC's in the wood used, sustainability would say plant a tree for every tree that you cut down to procure the wood, it would say source the raw materials nearby to reduce transportation cost and energy, energy efficient method would be to use wood in appropriate places so as to improve indoor thermal comfort.
It is evident that they are inter related but not interchangeable systems, although all of them contribute predominantly to saving the environmental holistically. Smart buildings come up with various strategies involving all of the above three approaches and makes the building profitable in the long run.
"The earth is all we have in common"
- Wendell Berry, Novelist
Here are some under rated green architects that I have come across through the years:
Ken Yeang
Ken Yeang is a Malaysian architect and designer who has done extensive work in ecomasterplans and architecture with a distinctive green aesthetic. Most of his buildings are GS to the T and have excellent sense of human comfort
"Ecologist first, architect second"
- Ken Yeang
Jean Nouvel
A Pritzker and Aga Khan awardee, he is one of the most prominent figures when it comes to sustainable design. His futuristic and eco-friendly approach made him a pioneer in his field.
Amanda Sturgeon
She spearheaded motivation towards engaging women in climate change and regenerative design, and was a major influence in the biophilic design category.
Sustainable and energy efficient practices make the world a little less harmful place to live in and is the most essential facet of the future. It is imperative that young architects integrate these into their profession and even the smallest of projects made sustainably competent.
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