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Green Architecture: Pillars for a Greener Future

by: sahil | last updated: April 30, 2010
Category: Green Savings | Tags: Green architecture, green building, net zero buildings, Eco friendly, environmentally friendly, environment, passive solar, solar energy, renewable energy, sustainable buildings

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Green Architecture: Pillars for a Greener Future

Green architecture or sustainable architecture is one which has an environmentally friendly design. This type of architecture strives to mitigate the negative environmental impact of a dwelling or a building. This reduction of harmful impact can be brought about by enhancing efficiency and moderation of use of energy, materials, and development space. Essentially this means that such architecture takes an ecologically conscious approach towards the design of the building and its environment.

The most important aspect of a dwelling or structure is the energy efficiency which can be improved by cost effective handling of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC). To improve the energy efficiency of homes, it is important that the dwelling has excellent quality insulation. The main reason for energy dissipation is due to improper insulation. Green architecture aims to reduce waste of energy in the form of heat by making the home insulated.

Passive solar buildings are one good example of green architecture. These buildings are partially off-grid and use renewable sources of energy to meet its energy requirements. This type of home is called passive solar since the heating and electricity requirements are met by using sun’s energy. These buildings do not have any mechanical apparatus or machines to provide energy thus remaining partially or fully off-grid. This can also save money in the long run since utility bills in a passive solar home can be very less.

The use of renewable energy is also a quintessential aspect of Green architecture and the use of solar panels and wind turbines can cut costs and promote eco-friendly fuels. The cost of solar panels and turbines is feasible since the life of these equipments can be as long as twenty years. Moreover heating of water can also be carried out using renewable energy sources, which further cuts costs and ensures reduction of pollutants. The use of renewable energy in a home is not only the chic thing to do but as oil prices soar, offsetting the expenditure towards fossil fuels by using renewable energy can turn out to be financial prudence in the long run.

The building materials that are used in such buildings are also eco-friendly and have minimal impact on Mother Nature. Some of the materials that are used in Green architecture are recycled denim or blown-in fiber glass insulation, sustainably harvested wood, Trass, sheep wool, concrete (high and ultra high performance, roman self-healing concrete, panels made from paper flakes, baked earth, Linoleum, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, seegrass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fiber plates, calcium sand stone, locally-obtained stone and rock, and bamboo, which is one of the strongest and fastest growing woody plants, and non-toxic low-VOC glues and paints.

There are myriad other things that are taken into consideration while designing such structures. Using bamboo and stainless steel can also be positive since these are easily recyclable and comparatively low-priced. Moreover, some things that cannot be used in building these structures are depleting sources such as endangered species of trees (such as Cedar) and fossil fuels. Sustainable or Green architecture is a very broad term that also covers Net Zero Homes which have almost no harmful emissions. However Green architecture requires skill and expertise on the part of the architect to work in an efficient manner.