"Green technology is not something that can be bolted on"

Tag : Thermal Fabric

Green buildings have emerged as a hot topic in recent weeks witheveryone from London mayor Boris Johnson to CBI boss Richard Lambert singing their praises and calling for wider adoption ofsustainable construction techniques.
But what constitutes a truly green building and why, when they candeliver significant long-term savings in terms of energy cost, doesadoption remain so low?
To find out, BusinessGreen.com caught up with two of the UK's leading green architects, Openstudio founder Jennifer Beningfield and Sarah Wigglesworth MBE, founderof Sarah Wigglesworth Architects .
BusinessGreen.com: There has been a lot of talk about greenarchitecture, but is it really gaining maturity as an approach?
Sarah: I think it is progressing rapidly, but the question is: where isit going? There is increasing awareness. This is good. There isincreasing knowledge. This is also good. But we are also seeingcompeting claims made by all sorts of manufacturers concerningtheir products and it is increasingly difficult to assess theseclaims using independent criteria. Initiatives from BRE –such as the Code for Sustainable Homes and Green Guide toSpecification, for example – attempt to make it easy but theyprovide pretty crude measures, it is difficult to unravel theirassessment criteria and they assume all suppliers of products arethe same. They deal only with very conventional materials andconstruction techniques, thereby demonstrating that they supportmainstream industries rather than promoting new green products frommore committed manufacturers and suppliers.
How do you go about assessing the green claims of new products andmaterials?
Jennifer: New materials come on to the market all the time, so we have tosift through to see which ones really work, and which don't. Thiscan be time consuming, but it is enjoyable. Our practice works withnatural materials a lot, so sustainable sourcing is very importantfor us, as well as understanding the concept of "embodiedenergy", where products or materials which appear to be greencan be energy intensive and polluting in production. New technologyis really exciting, as we have seen innovations coming particularlyfrom Germany over a period of years, which are now being refined,costs are coming down, and clients are starting to see the benefitsof a long-term investment in these technologies. Those that reallywork and make sense for clients therefore tend to be ones that havebeen around for some time.
How is sustainable architecture perceived by clients today –have they become more knowledgeable on the issues?
Sarah: They are interested in doing something but they are not in themindset of lifecycle costing – and often the capital andrunning costs come out of different budgets. So we usually find ourgreen design elements are slashed after tender as the budget isnever large enough. I think public organisations should be leadingon this but I find government departments such as the DCSF seem tobe in denial about the current cost of green architecture.
Jennifer: Our clients have definitely become more knowledgeable about theissues, particularly energy use, as everyone is sensitive to risinggas and electricity costs. We find, however, that they are notwilling to be test cases for new technology, or to take risks whenbuilding. Generally, we find that if clients are building for theirown use they tend to be more receptive to sustainable architecture,as they can see the long-term benefits of building across thelifecycle of the building. If people are building to sell, theytend to be less likely to make the investment in sustainableconstruction and technologies, as they see little financial gainfrom it in the short term.
What changes have you seen in requests from clients from anenvironmental standpoint?
Sarah: Most of them want to see something green, but this usually meansplant and equipment – that is, a technical solution,something they can point to and show it's "green". Butthese are the obvious elements that can be picked off during costcutting. We try to safeguard the green aspects of our work bymaking them integral to the architecture. This means the correctorientation of the building towards sun and wind; good thermal massand insulation values; no air conditioning through the use ofnatural ventilation; green materials, preferably wood; limitedamounts of good glazing in timber frames; good daylighting.Everyone wants rainwater recycling, but I don’t personallythink this is a big issue in the UK. I am a great fan of compostingof organic waste and human soil waste reuse but the latter isprobably going too far for most clients.
Jennifer: Energy efficiency is top of the agenda, as it makes financialsense. Also, clients are requiring their buildings to be morevisually sophisticated, so we get requests for invisibletechnologies that are concealed within the fabric of the building.Some clients are interested in low-emissions materials, but theytend to be in the minority. Most people still want to use materialsthat they know will wear well over the long term, and low-emissionsmaterials often do not offer the longevity of less"green" materials. They generally also require moremaintenance, which puts some people off.
Do you think businesses are genuinely interested in green buildingsor are they doing it because it’s trendy, to impressconsumers, or to abide by legislation?
Sarah: Definitely the latter, unless the business is already committed togreen issues.
Jennifer: I think that more enlightened businesses realise that there arefinancial benefits to thinking about buildings sustainably, and formost businesses and other clients this remains the main agenda. Fewbusinesses will invest in sustainable technology only because itappears to be trendy, because of the significant costs involved.Green buildings will become more widespread only if the argument ismade for increased productivity, lower energy use, happier staff orinhabitants.
Do you get many requests that just aren't feasible?
Sarah: No. We would be delighted for a client to be really leading theway on the green agenda. Usually they don't really understand whatto do and look to us to take a lead, then get disheartened whenthey find the capital cost is higher than their budget allows.
Jennifer: There are not many things that are completely impossible, but thisflexibility tends to come at a price. Sometimes clients tend to seesingle aspects of green architecture in isolation, whereas truesustainable construction means building for long-term use, notconstantly demolishing and rebuilding, which is inefficient interms of energy use and the use of resources.
Do you think green architecture will stay quite specialised for awhile to come or will we be dropping the "green" tag anytime soon as it becomes the norm?
Sarah: That's the genuine hope but I fear we are still a long way offthat. What I think is needed is a truly independent assessment ofthe green product, a bit like food now has, stating CO2 emissions,energy used to make it, what proportion is recycled, whether it istoxic to make, how far it has come, and so on. Then the designercould make up their own mind about the things that are important.Legislation is essential to get people addressing this and nottrying to avoid it all the time, which is the prevalent attitude tothe building regulations in my opinion.
Jennifer: I think that it will take a long time for green building to becomethe norm. There is a practical aspect to this. Buildings areresistant to change, as they are expensive to renew. Eventually,however, technological advances will have become more widespread,and therefore less expensive. Building sustainable cities requiressociety and culture to alter. We need to change the way we thinkabout building and development. Something that is incrediblyunsustainable is building isolated communities at low densities,which we see all over the South East. Sustainable architecture isreally about building for the future, investing in high-qualityconstruction with a degree of flexibility and adaptability that hasoften been sidelined in recent decades. You have to look at thedesign and construction as a whole, and not at green technology assomething that can be bolted on. We also need to thinkstrategically about planning, sunlight and orientation. It is animmensely complex issue, but also a rewarding one to tackle as webuild and develop our environment.
About Jennifer Beningfield, BArch MArch PhD SACA RIBA

Openstudio is an international practice, based in London, engaged with thedesign of buildings, interiors, furniture and landscapes for boththe public and private sector.
The principal, Jennifer Beningfield, founded Openstudio afterworking on museum and art galley projects, including the CorningGlass Museum and the Getty Antiquities Museum.
About Sarah Wigglesworth, MBE MA(Cantab) DipArch, RIBA FRSA
Established in 1993, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects has a portfolio that includes eco-friendly offices, culturalbuildings, private and social housing and structures for education,arts and sport.
Sarah was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship in Architecture (1991)and in 2003 she was honored with an MBE for her services toarchitecture. Tags: Green-building , Architecture , Construction