design, architecture, urbanism… with a grain of salt

Is sustainability boring?

click the link to read the article. via Arbitare.

yes. sustainability is boring. It is boring and uninspired. Well put Michael Braungart. 

The counter argument to the most reductive movement known.

green….green green greengreengreengreengreengreengreengreen.

Yes its all getting a little old. There are some capitalists out there milking it for all its worth. Even the ACCC are on the case, making sure everyone adheres to its true meaning.

Then, you get the goods. Jetson Green. I really like this site. It has a lot of integrity, its intention is to promote awareness for sustainability, and moreso for me, identify what the bloody hell sustainability means.

I’ve linked here to their critique of the beautifully proportioned Federal Building in San Francisico by Morphosis, and its relationship to the LEED energy rating system.

Architect’s working on a plethora of buildings types in the western world are sure to have encountered Energy Efficiency, Green Star Ratings etc. etc. blah. blah. blah.

I am a strong believer in steps toward energy efficiency as it is obvious that these more ‘considered’ environments contribute to better workplaces and higher standards of living. Though the whole process is still lacking credibility.
For instance. Although still in their early stages of development, no Energy rating systems take into account the concepts of Embodied Energy.

It boggles the mind that a residence with a total livable footprint of close to 700m2 can be rated in the same fashion a residence one third of its size accomodating the same amount of people. What about all the extra concrete, the extra energy used to create all that extra steel, the extra water used on site to prevent dust, the extra energy used to create the vast quantities of glazing? Bricks? Timber? Ikea furniture?

But then the whole concept of carbon trading waters down any “Green” thinking. How can you justify polluting, by offsetting it somewhere else?

I’m sure all of this will settle eventually.

I think the greatest benefit from “Energism”** is an awareness of the pollution in the first place. Speaking of awareness, I’ve sourced this image from the blog AnArchitecture. They wrote a succinct little summary including these figures on carbon dioxide per metre square of construction technique;

Adios amigos!

**Energism. I coined this word just then. As the “green” in our society could be a passing movement. Urgh, I hate how green Architecture has this kitschy aesthetic. More on this later.