Sustainable Architecture - How? And how beautiful?

The latest trend report of the European Construction Observatory is a wakeup call for climate transition as well as for employment in construction and architecture.?The report presents the main trends in the construction sector and showcasing good practices (https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/construction/observatory/trend-papers_en) in renovating the building envelope, that is: walls, windows, doors, roofs, and floors.

Implementing these new technologies and processes is not only relevant for reducing the carbon footprint by conserving energy and limiting CO2 emissions, but it also improves the comfort of those living in these buildings. Furthermore it affects those working in construction sectors, meaning approximately 15 million workers in Europe alone (https://www.efbww.eu/activities/construction).

While architecture is one of the oldest professional fields in the world, the challenge to building materials and construction sector is fairly new, only since 2020 the European Union pressures for speed given the climate crisis:

?Buildings account for 40% of the energy we use, and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the buildings today will still be there in 2050, so to bring down energy use and emissions we have to renovate them. Change in the building sector has been too slow. And yet, the urgency to act on renovation is enormous.??

- Frans Timmermans, Kadri Simson

(Quoted from ?Opening remarks by Frans Timmermans and Kadri Simson at Press Conference on new European Green Deal proposals for more energy efficiency, increased carbon removals and a framework to decarbonise the gas market?)

This Impact Blog wants to showcase a few examples from the architecture and construction sector that prove the many innovative ways and possibilities in which the construction and building sector can become more sustainable. If we think these ideas further and start implementing innovative ideas, there is huge potential to change the construction and building sector permanently.

?Example 1: Zero Waste House

Picture ???? European Union: https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/get-inspired/inspiring-projects-and-ideas/zero-waste-house_en ?

?Is it possible to renovate a century-old house using original materials while adhering to today's ecological &?sustainable?standards???

- European Union

This is the question the project ?Zero Waste House? from ?alec, Slovenia intends to answer. In order to do so their plan is to ?transform a 130-year-old house built of old-growth wood, stone & brick, into a sustainable, community-oriented and aesthetically beautiful alternative to the currently popular brick mortar-based building practices.? (Quotes: https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/get-inspired/inspiring-projects-and-ideas/zero-waste-house_en)?

With this unusual approach the project adresses an issue many European homes face these days: Demolition & Construction waste. Since renovating an entire house is very expensive, the existing structure is usually being almost entirely demolished, which produces a lot of waste. The Zero Waste House project looks at this not as waste, but as materials that can be used again to build something new: as an opportunity. Their goal is to reuse at least 80% of the property’s materials to build the new Zero Waste House as well as making it energy efficient.

?The project’s approach deeply rooted in circular economy, community & ecology and has already won the New European Bauhaus?Rising Star Prize in the "Techniques, materials and processes for construction & design" category for under-30s.? (Quote: https://europa.eu/new-european-bauhaus/get-inspired/inspiring-projects-and-ideas/zero-waste-house_en)

?Example 2: A Building Made of Biobased Materials

Picture ??? ? Oskar Vinck and Jeroen van der Wielen https://www.archdaily.com/970371/at-dutch-design-week-2021-a-building-made-of-biobased-materials-illustrates-the-possibilities-of-circular-design

The next example takes a similiar approach on the issue of material and on the process of circular design. The ?Exploded View Beyond Building?, a bio-based house which was part of the Dutch Design week 2021, was designed by?Pascal Leboucq?and?Lucas De Man.?

?It is the result of many years of research within the design program "The Embassy of Circular and Biobased Building", which enlists the collaboration of designers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers and pioneers in the field of circular and biobased construction to find sustainable solutions for a paradigm shift within the construction sector.? (Quote: https://www.archdaily.com/970371/at-dutch-design-week-2021-a-building-made-of-biobased-materials-illustrates-the-possibilities-of-circular-design)

?Circular design is not only feasible but a scaleable construction method for the future? -

Andreea Cutieru on archdaily

(Quote: https://www.archdaily.com/970371/at-dutch-design-week-2021-a-building-made-of-biobased-materials-illustrates-the-possibilities-of-circular-design)

The Exploded View Beyond Building features 100 types of sustainable materials such as mycelium tiles or panels made of oyster shells. (HOW COOL IS THAT?)This project proves that the possibility of sustainable and circular living is concrete and could change the way we understand housing, living and building entirely.

?Example 3: Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020

Picture ??? ? Michele Nastasi https://carloratti.com/project/italian-pavilion-at-expo-dubai-2020/

The third example, the Italian Pavilion at Expo Dubai 2020, was designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Italo Rota Building Office, with Matteo Gatto and F&M Ingegneria.

This building, which is not only an architectural masterpiece, but also a great example of naturally implemented circular design, features ?a multimedia facade made with two million recycled plastic bottles, new types of building materials – from algae and coffee grounds to orange peels and sand – and an advanced system for climate mitigation that constitutes an alternative to air conditioning? (Quote: https://carloratti.com/project/italian-pavilion-at-expo-dubai-2020/).

?Three hulls, arrived in Dubai, become the roof of the pavilion, and after Expo, they could set sail to new destinations.?

- Carlo Ratti Associati

The pavilion ?envisions an architecture which challenges how buildings are usually developed for temporary events such as a World Expo, in which a lot of newly-built structures end up as landfill after just a few months. Contrary to that approach, the Italian Pavilion was conceived as an architecture that is able to transform itself through time, in a sustainable fashion. Three hulls, arrived in Dubai, become the roof of the pavilion, and after Expo, they could set sail to new destinations.? (Quote: https://carloratti.com/project/italian-pavilion-at-expo-dubai-2020/).

One has to keep in mind that sustainability has more dimensions than ecology and economy. Using the methods of circular design needs to be the first priority when we want to change the building sector permanently. But sustainability also has a social dimension. We have to think about how to make housing like this as well as living sustainably and wasteless, affordable for everyone. This is where it gets really difficult.

This is a topic for another blog entry though…

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Written and curated by Bernd Fesel and Lisa Reitinger