Design – MARQ eec

The problem of buildings in Europe due to climate change

The fight against climate change remains one of the world’s greatest challenges. The latest data reveal unprecedented changes, according to the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global warming is causing increasing, and in some cases irreversible, changes in rainfall, ocean, and wind patterns in all regions of the world.

The report predicts that Europe will experience an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, including marine heat waves, and warns that a temperature increase of 2 °C will have critical effects on nature and people, an example of which are the heat waves that have been experienced in recent months and have recorded historical temperatures.

In recent weeks, Europe has experienced a heat wave in places like Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, leaving fatalities. And this has led to the realization of a problem in much of the continent is that buildings are designed to protect themselves from the cold by retaining heat.

Protecting oneself from the cold is a perfectly rational choice when in Northern Europe, as it is a health risk for inhabitants and tourists. In general, winter mortality is higher than summer mortality.

The need for shelter from the cold caused Europe’s architecture to be characterized by houses capable of retaining heat, especially after the energy crisis of the early 1970s.

That crisis highlighted some Western energy issues and led architects and urban designers to emphasize the thermal efficiency of buildings. Climate change also motivated this search for efficiency, with an approach based on mitigation that forgot the adaptive difficulty: it was necessary to reduce energy consumption since temperatures would become more extreme.

In Europe, it is common to hear that climate change mainly alters life in developing countries, but rising temperatures especially affect urban areas due to the urban heat island phenomenon. Asphalt and buildings retain more heat than vegetation. They also limit air circulation.

The United Kingdom has been the main protagonist of this latest heat wave. It has influenced a multitude of infrastructures, from airports to bridges. The heat wave has wreaked havoc in a country more accustomed to having to protect itself from the rain and cold.

But homes have also been the subject of controversy. Many buildings in the country date precisely from the 1970s, when retaining heat was the priority. Small windows that do not allow for proper ventilation are common. And properly ventilating the home is vitally important, not just when the heat is on.

For their part, Spanish households require forms of home cooling such as air conditioning and fans. This heat wave is probably increasing the demand for these solutions, even in areas where they were not considered necessary.

Good ventilation is also crucial. Homes with windows located on opposite facades or with access to interior courtyards that allow excess heat to escape from the building like a chimney are very useful. Shutters, also uncommon in northern countries, allow the home to be insulated during the hottest hours of the day.

While ensuring energy efficiency will be extremely essential to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change, the focus must also be on adapting to the consequences.

What is the European Union doing about climate change?

Higher temperatures and intensified weather events will also generate enormous costs for the EU economy and hamper countries’ ability to produce food.

The EU has adopted ambitious legislation in multiple policy areas to implement its international commitments on climate change. EU countries have set binding emission targets for key sectors of the economy to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In April 2021, the Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the European climate law that aims to establish by statute the 2030 emission reduction target. EU ministers adopted the deal in June 2021.

While this increased climate ambition will require transforming EU industry, it will also:

To stimulate sustainable economic growth
create jobs
to deliver health and environmental benefits to EU citizens
contribute to the long-term global competitiveness of the EU economy by fostering innovation in green technologies

Sustainable Architecture

Sustainable architecture and environmental issues are now on the agenda of companies and organizations seeking to mitigate the impact of climate change on the environment through green buildings.

The word “sustainability” and the expression “sustainable architecture” are spreading in the world of design and architecture for two main reasons: functional and formal. Any object that is considered sustainable must show ecological awareness, and its functionality must be linked to its relationship with the environment through its appearance.

In recent years, a modern building must encompass all aspects of the planning and construction process from an ecological approach, including the choice of building materials; the design and implementation of heating, cooling, plumbing, waste, and ventilation systems; and the integration of the built environment into the natural landscape.

What is sustainable architecture?

Sustainable architecture refers to the practice of designing buildings that create living environments that work to minimize the human use of resources. This is reflected in the materials and methods of construction of a building and in the use of resources, such as heating, cooling, energy, water, and wastewater treatment.

Technically speaking, sustainable architecture means that the structures thus designed “sustain” their users by providing healthy environments, improving the quality of life, and avoiding waste production, in order to preserve the long-term survivability of the human species.

Hunter and Amory Lovins, co-founders of the Rocky Mountain Institute, mention that the goal of sustainable architecture is to “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

The term is used to describe various aspects of building design and use. For some, it applies to the design of buildings that produce as much energy as they consume. Another interpretation calls for an awareness of the spiritual significance of a building’s design, construction, and location. Likewise, some argue that buildings should promote their users’ spiritual and physical well-being.

Sustainable architecture designs and constructs buildings to limit their environmental impact, achieve energy efficiency, to positively impact the health, comfort, and improved livability of the inhabitants; all of this can be achieved through the implementation of appropriate technologies within the building.

It must be able to meet the demands of consumers, taking into account the time and natural resources required from the early stages of the project, entering the context in the most natural way possible, planning ahead, and making the space and materials used completely reusable.

Principles of sustainable architecture

The United Nations lists the following five principles of sustainable architecture:

Healthy indoor environment: All possible measures should be taken to ensure that building materials and systems do not emit toxic substances and gases into the indoor atmosphere. Additional measures should be taken to clean and revitalize indoor air with filtration and plants.

Resource efficiency: All possible measures should be taken to ensure that the building’s use of energy and other resources is kept to a minimum. Cooling, heating, and lighting systems should use methods and products that conserve or eliminate energy use. Water use and wastewater production are minimized.

Environmentally benign materials: All possible measures should be taken to use building materials and products that minimize the destruction of the global environment. Wood shall be selected based on non-destructive forestry practices. Other materials and products should be considered in terms of toxic waste production. Many practitioners cite an additional criterion: that the long-term environmental and social costs of producing the building materials must be considered and shown to meet sustainability goals.

Environmental form: All possible measures should be taken to relate the form and plan of the design to the site, region, and climate. Measures should be taken to “heal” and enhance the ecology of the site. Adaptations should be made for recycling and energy efficiency, and measures should be taken to relate the building form to a harmonious relationship between inhabitants and nature.

Good design: All possible measures should be taken to achieve an efficient, durable, and the elegant relationship between area use, circulation, building form, mechanical systems, and building technology. Symbolic relationships to appropriate history, earth, and spiritual principles should be sought and expressed. Finished buildings should be well constructed, user-friendly, and beautiful.

The future of sustainable architecture

Despite innovations, advances, and growing public awareness of the need for greener building practices, sustainable architecture still represents a small portion of overall global construction. In addition, many experts believe that the concept of sustainability is outdated given the current state of the planet. Instead, they insist that the way forward lies in regenerative architecture and design, a much more progressive holistic approach that focuses on harnessing the world’s natural resources to create buildings and systems capable of regenerating and decomposing completely when they have served their purpose.

The importance of sustainable building design

The increase in population in the world in recent years has caused the search for alternatives in the construction and functional improvement of different buildings, to ensure that natural resources such as water, land, forests, and minerals are not depleted.

The concept of sustainable construction arises to reduce the impact on the environment by promoting environmentally responsible building practices, improving energy and resource efficiency, and designing building plans to reduce the carbon footprint and establish a sustainable environment.

According to recent research, the operation of buildings consumes about 40% of the total global energy, and one option to mitigate this damage is sustainable architecture, which involves the entire life cycle of a building, taking into account environmental qualities, functional qualities, social and cultural factors, economic factors and future value.

Ecological architecture is based on the local natural environment, using the basic principles of ecology, technology, building science, and modern scientific and technological means to organize the relationship between buildings and other related factors rationally.

The construction theory of ecological buildings and ecological cities presented in recent years is based on the principles of natural ecology, exploring the relationship between people, buildings, and nature and creating the most comfortable, reasonable, and sustainable environment for human beings.

Consequently, ecological architecture is the development direction of architectural design in the 21st century. This type of architecture is also called a green building or sustainable building, as it involves a wide range of aspects, is the intersection of multiple disciplines and types of work, and is a comprehensive systematic project that requires the attention and participation of the whole society.

Thus, sustainability is a crucial solution for the construction industry and economic efficiency, protection and restore ecosystems, and improve human welfare, as it aims to: minimize the loss of materials and energy; reuse and recyclability of materials; human satisfaction; minimal environmental impact and incorporation of alternative energy sources.

The building sustainability involves a complex structure of interrelationships between built, natural, and social systems, requiring different priorities at each stage of a building’s life cycle. These can be continuously improved.

Consequently, the design of sustainable buildings is important because the achievement of sustainability goals depends to a large extent on it, especially the reduction of material and energy loss throughout the life cycle of a building, taking into account all social and economic factors, as well as the incorporation of alternative energy sources.

Sustainable building design can be defined as a building in which the structure and processes are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout the life cycle of the building. That includes everything from design and construction, maintenance and renovation, to demolition.

Why is sustainable building design relevant?

Most of a building’s carbon footprint comes from its energy. Heating alone accounts for 10% of a country’s carbon footprint. Moving to sustainable architecture brings numerous benefits, not only for the environment but also economic and social, such as greater ecology and a reduction in energy use.

Other benefits include:

Protection of natural ecosystems and environmental biodiversity.
Improved air and water quality.
Competitive advantage, giving architects the opportunity to win business based on their sustainability commitments.
Improved living conditions, health, and comfort of building occupants.

Finally, sustainable building design helps to strike a balance between the environment and the construction industry, which overexploits natural resources and is a way to counteract the environmental impact.

By Ingrid Luna