As nature intended

Emerging technologies are not the only way to cut carbon – our architectural ancestors may have had a greener approach. Duncan Johnson investigates

Addressing climate change in the current economic crisis sounds about as appealing as repairing a solid waste separator (one of the more ingenious technologies facilitating a zero carbon property and construction industry). Yet the downturn offers the ideal opportunity to begin building a sustainable future.

Times are tough but as Keith Clarke, chief executive at Atkins, says: “The question we must ask is no longer, ‘is it cost efficient?’ but rather ‘is it carbon critical?’ If that requirement is not factored in, then the assets and infrastructure we are creating will not be sustainable.”

The proposition is entirely correct but it fails to recognise that cost efficiency and sustainability will be inextricably linked soon. Which is good news. The even better news is that there is a broad willingness to advance the industry, but – and now for the bad news – do we know how?

If not green shoots, then green roots of a solution are to be found in the answers to two key questions: What does it mean to be green? And, in an economic downturn, can we afford this?

Designing a green future
You’re unlikely to find much opposition to making buildings more sustainable but separating the green thinkers who are fundamentally changing the way we shape the built environment from what architect Dr Ken Yeang terms “the swathe of eco-wannabies,” is proving a challenge.

Dr Yeang has been at the forefront of ecological and passive low-energy design since the early 1970s. Famous for his bio-climatic skyscrapers, he has more than 200 built projects and multiple awards to his name, all of which are founded on the core principles of what he terms green design. The concept is developed in his seminal Ecodesign: A Manual for Ecological Design, and extended in his essay, Ecomasterplanning, in which he explains how the introduction of a green framework or, what he terms ‘ecoinfrastructure’, can alleviate the impact of climate change (see climate strategies page 23).

Dr Yeang’s genre of low-energy skyscrapers are based on his green design principles. His work brings the built environment together with the ecosystem of the site by using organic materials as a key element of construction. It is a practice known as vegitecture, seeking to directly engage the build with its environment.

We’re all familiar with the use of sedum walls and roofs. One of the finest examples of this green cladding is the ‘mur vegetal’ or vertical garden system developed by botanist Patrick Blanc. In 2006, Blanc and celebrated gardener Gilles Clément applied their knowledge of planting to the construction of the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris, France. When the building was unveiled it was undoubtedly an aesthetic triumph, but did the ‘green’ ethic run deep enough?

Today’s green thinkers don’t just want green-looking buildings. As Dr Yeang has suggested, what about building a vertical farm, where tenants grow their own fruit and vegetables? How about a living, breathing building where rainwater can be harvested and the air purified by natural means? The concepts are as sound as they are compelling, but critics of Dr Yeang would be the first to point out that skyscrapers and sustainability are mutually exclusive concepts.

A skyscraper is one of the most un-ecological of all building types, costing roughly a third more energy to build, operate and eventually demolish. They are the product of high land values and urban growth but at present are more economically viable and do less environmental damage than the two alternatives. Urban areas developing sideways make unsustainable demands on land ­– more often than not arable and green belt.

And satellite urban spaces demand high-energy solutions to move people from centre to satellite and vice-versa. “Unless we find an economically viable alternative, it’s a building form that will be with us for a while,” Dr Yeang says of his skyscrapers, he adds: “I’m not pro skyscrapers, but if we have to have them, then let’s make them green. If we shy away from them, then other people will continue to build them as they are at present”.

Any high concept must have a foundation in economic reality. Sustainable development, new build or retrofit, must be grounded in the tough economics of a reasonable return and offer a commercially attractive proposition for the end user/occupier. And it doesn’t get much tougher than the current market. “It’s tempting to focus on survival, but the industry must face up to the challenge of sustainability,” says Bill Hughes, managing director, Legal & General Property. The revelation for most is that “intelligent sustainability in real estate will result in net cost savings.”

So where do we begin?
There has been an industry-wide rush, particularly among the largest firms, to put a green team in place, and for the most part these are serious moves to educate and keep abreast of the latest
in green technology.

However, the widespread reliance on emerging technologies in a bid to engineer a carbon-free solution could be delaying the green revolution that the industry needs. “Over the last 10 years, almost every architect and developer in the world has wanted to become green,” says Dr Yeang. “The biggest problem for surveyors is that no one has explained properly how to do it. It’s not surprising as I still see major schemes by famous architects, who have been designing in the same way for 20 years, where mechanical engineers are brought in at the end, to engineer good BREEAM or LEED ratings.”

The latest technologies have a vital role to play but too often add-ons such as biomass boilers, bike parks, solar panels and wind turbines are treated as an after thought to tick the boxes of numerous sustainability codes of practice.

In the UK, Gentoo Homes operations director Allan Thompson, is concerned that the Code for Sustainable Homes point-based system encourages the installation of renewable technologies, regardless of their suitability.

“The code gives you points for fitting PV but there is nothing in the code about what is sensible or cost effective… is fitting PV panels in the north of England a good idea?” he asks. Thompson is keen to highlight the principles of the German Passivhaus standard – a standard that has been around for 17 years and successfully applied to more than 15,000 buildings.

“It’s simple: energy use is cut to a minimum by building a super-insulated airtight envelope. Coupled with a degree of solar gain, the need for a heating system is eliminated,” he says, adding “and there’s not a turbine or solar panel in sight.”

Incredibly, the Gentoo Homes properties being built to this principle will require 85% less energy to heat than one built to current UK building regulations. And, it is estimated the annual heating costs for one of these homes will only be around £40.

Although the Passivhaus standard only applies to energy efficiency rather than offering an overarching framework for sustainable practice, it is a neat and effective idea, which highlights the importance of not blindly grasping for the latest technological solutions.

Moving on…
Since the 1990s, sustainable technologies have advanced at a furious pace and continue to do so. One of the challenges for developers now is knowing which technologies to adopt and what to do with them. For example, five to10 years ago photovoltaics were about 10-20% efficient, yet now PV technologies can achieve 20-30% efficiencies, with some products boasting results of 40%.

If you installed PVs only five years ago, you may now need to upgrade. The engineering is changing so fast that it’s very difficult to keep up. At present there are two main ways to harvest solar energy with easy building application: solar thermal and solar photovoltaics. The Graetzel cell or dye-sensitised solar cell (DSC) could soon change all that.

This dye-molecule-based technology, which can absorb light from sunlight, was invented in 1991 but is only now beginning to achieve cost-effective efficiencies. The huge advantage of a technology that emulates a natural process by imitating photosynthesis is in its application. DSC cells are flexible, lightweight and could one day be applied to any surface of a building – creating a living, breathing skin.

It’s an exciting prospect. Moving away from a building that makes unsustainable demands on off-site energy sources (renewable or not) to a building that is a power station is a compelling proposition. It’s not far fetched to envisage a future where a new development, which doesn’t generate its own energy, would not receive planning permission. Nevertheless, there is a danger in becoming over reliant on what technologies may emerge in the future.

Engineered green solutions, from living walls to biomass boilers, are examples of an industry that is embracing the challenge to become carbon neutral. However, it’s also a symptom of an industry yet to come to terms with the urgent need to recalibrate its working practices. For architects, in particular, it’s the stuff of revolution, Dr Yeang notes: “Architectural schools will be in a state of shock.

Most of what is taught in the schools today is based on aesthetics, architectural preconceptions and strategy that has nothing to do with energy.” Indeed, sustainability has been a key element of a surveyor’s work for many years and it became a mandatory competence within the APC in 2006.

Quiet revolution
Nestled on top of the iconic white cliffs of Dover, a radical rethink of building practices is taking place. The Pines Calyx conference and events centre was conceived as a carbon neutral catalyst for sustainable development, to act as a hub for corporate leaders and members of the building industry to meet and discuss green issues.

To the architecturally trained eye, the centre would be more at home in late 19th-century Spain than overlooking one of Europe’s busiest ports. The earth shelter design and use of site-sourced materials is the effective fusing of historic Catalonian vaulting techniques and 21st-century technology and know how.

Here, the driver for the construction of the low-carbon build was tripartite: to progress low-carbon development (appreciating the economics of waste), rehabilitate site biodiversity and enrich the local community.

A visit to the glorious chalk cliff-top site takes you about as far from the urban sprawl as it’s possible to get, but the ethics and economics of carbon neutrality, coupled with a sympathy for the local environment, offer universal lessons. “It’s about recognising how natural systems can provide some very elegant and economic solutions,” says Alistair Gould MRICS, director of the Carbon Free Group and co-founder of Pines Calyx.

The key realisation is that we don’t need to originate an entirely new built environment, the knowledge already exists – and to an extent has done for 3.8 million years, in the existing ecosystems of our natural world.

As Gould says, “if we start applying our knowledge of the natural world to how we build buildings we can make some very attractive bottom line savings.” If we imitate nature then we won’t need to depend on unsustainable sources.

The big vision of pioneers such as Yeang and Gould is to build buildings that will live as their own ecosystem, buildings which emulate the properties, functions and processes of nature ­– to create human-made ecosystems that will coexist in stability with the ecosystems of nature. It’s a concept known as ecomimicry and is rapidly gaining traction as fundamental to green design.

Waste not, want not
As a species we have become increasingly powerful, able to modify landscapes, alter topographies and build vast structures, only limited by our ever developing engineering prowess. But before we became so effective at colonising space, roughly pre-Industrial Revolution, nature was relatively untouched.

The planet’s ecosystem was in harmony. Today, human society takes the materials it wants, uses what it needs and dumps the rest, without regard for where the waste might go – visit any construction site if you need proof.

Alistair Gould says: “Everything here [at Pines Calyx] is pretty much waste. The floor is Japanese maple, which came from a condemned social club. The wood was simply going to be burnt. I’m not saying rammed chalk walls are the solution for everywhere, but it was suitable for this site.” The construction and operation energy consumption data speaks for itself (see right).

Successful sustainable development requires a starting basis of using local materials as much as possible. The architect of old was in tune with his site and, because of transport limitations, raw materials would normally come from close by. Traditional architecture is one of the best examples of green design that we have.

The thick stone walls of a 17th-century farmhouse in Eastern Europe, for example, were not the product of a lack of precision stone-cutting technology. Rather, builders quarried stone available locally
and learnt that insulation keeps the heat in, in the winter and, in the summer, by the time daytime heat has penetrated it’s already evening. In the days before electricity, our ancestors were forced to enhance interior comfort through trial and error.

Value added
No one is heralding a return to the Dark Ages but energy security issues over the next few years are grave. In the UK, with the forthcoming deregulation of the energy industry, the decommissioning of nuclear power stations and potential shortage of public funds to cover any spikes in energy prices – following the catastrophic banking crisis and subsequent bailouts – the prospect of hyper inflation in energy terms looks very real.

The long-term trend is clear. Energy pricing will make it essential to build and regenerate zero-carbon, highly efficient buildings, regardless of any ethical drive to sustainability.

Do it, do it now
Becoming green begins with an acceptance that our current energy-hungry attitude needs to change radically, and an acknowledgment that codes of practice are a platform from which to advance the industry, not a licence to greenwash. There’s plenty to be done but surveyors are uniquely positioned to judge the viability issues of current strategies and now lead the green revolution.

Climate strategies
The work of Dr Yeang is unified by its ecomasterplan approach: it is the seamless and environmentally benign integration of four strands of infrastructures: the green infrastructure (linked greenways and habitats), the grey infrastructure (the engineering infrastructure and sustainable engineering systems), the blue infrastructure (the drainage system) and the red, or human, infrastructure (being its built systems, hardscapes and regulatory systems).

Two examples of this approach are the ambitious EDIIT Tower, an award-winning design for an urban site in Singapore but one that will not be built, and Solaris, which will be located in the research and business park in central Singapore’s one-north community. Both projects were designed for typical high-density urban sites where the ecosystem had been destroyed by intensive development.

The designs are as much an economic driven response to the need for high-density city space, as they are a rehabilitation of the site ecology. In the case of Solaris, the 8,000 sq m of vegetated mass introduced exceeds the total biomass achievable had the site not been developed.

Not only will local species of plants be reintroduced to the site, but this organic mass will also contribute to the ambient cooling of the building through evapo-transpiration, thus reducing the need for the use of energy, renewable or otherwise, in air conditioning and cooling. It is a particularly effective strategy in this tropical climatic zone.

Solaris’ overall energy consumption will represent a reduction of 33% compared to local precedents. It is on target to exceed BCA’s GreenMark Platinum rating. The highest possible certification granted by Singapore’s sustainable building benchmark. The project is a dramatic demonstration of the possibilities inherent in an ecological approach to building design.

With its extensive eco-infrastructure and sustainable design features, Solaris enhances its site’s existing ecosystems, rather than replace them.

To read an extended interview with Dr Ken Yeang, click here

To read an extended interview with Alistair Gould, click here

To see more sustainable projects, click here

Further information
RICS Sustainability is the focal point for RICS’ involvement in sustainability projects, research and events. Visit www.rics.org/sustainability