Sustainability
One of the most popular definitions of
sustainability and certainly one relevant to construction, was
created by the Brundtland Commission which defined sustainable
development as development that ‘meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs’.
Sustainable design
Sustainable design (also referred to as green
design, eco-design, or design for environment) is the science of
designing physical objects to comply with the principles of
economic, social, and ecological sustainability. It ranges from the
microcosm of designing small objects for everyday use, through to
the macrocosm of designing buildings.
In the context of this document, sustainable
design is the production of buildings in a way that reduces use of
non-renewable resources, minimises environmental impact, and
relates people with the natural environment.
Sustainable design is a reaction to the rapid
growth of economic activity and human population, depletion of
natural resources, damage to ecosystems and loss of biodiversity.
Proponents of sustainable design believe that the crisis is in
large part caused by conventional design and industrial practices,
which disregard the risks and environmental impacts associated with
goods and services. Green design is a means of reducing or
eliminating these impacts while maintaining quality of life by
using careful assessment and considered design to substitute less
harmful products and processes for conventional ones.
Principles
of sustainable design
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Low-impact materials
Choose non-toxic, sustainably-produced or
recycled materials which require little energy to process.
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Energy efficiency
Use manufacturing processes and produce energy
efficient products which require less energy.
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Quality and durability
Longer-lasting and better-functioning products
will have to be replaced less frequently, reducing the impacts of
producing replacements.
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Design for reuse and recycling:
Products, processes, and systems should be
designed for performance in a commercial 'afterlife'.
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Renewability
Materials should ideally come from nearby
(local or bioregional), sustainably-managed renewable sources that
can be composted (or fed to livestock) when their usefulness has
been exhausted.
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Low embodied energy
The embodied energy of a product is all the
energy used in extracting, processing and transporting raw
materials, added to the energy used in product manufacture and
delivery.
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture is the design and
construction of sustainable buildings. Sustainable architecture
attempts to reduce the collective environmental impacts during the
production of building components, during the construction process,
as well as during the lifecycle of the building (heating,
electricity use, maintenance cycles etc).
This design practice emphasises efficiency of
heating and cooling systems, alternative energy sources such as
passive solar, appropriate building siting, reused or recycled
building materials, on-site power generation (solar technology,
ground source heat pumps, wind power), rainwater harvesting for
gardening and washing, and on-site waste management such as green
roofs that filter and control stormwater run off.
Insulation and sustainable design
Properly installed insulation is a key route
to saving energy and creating sustainable buildings. Within the
range of insulation products available, no other can provide the
broad range of benefits of both glasswool and rock mineral
wool.
The combined thermal and acoustic properties
alone make glasswool and rock mineral wool the ideal choice for
informed designers of any building type. Add in non-combustibility
and the ability to be recycled at the end of the building life and
you have the epitome of sustainability.
