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According to the US Energy Information Administration, residential buildings account for 21% of America’s energy consumption, while the construction and operation of buildings is responsible for 50% of the country’s greenhouse gases. And according to Edward Mazria, an architect from Santa Fe, New Mexico, architects have a lot to complain about.
Mazria left a lucrative career in architecture to found Architecture 2030, a non-profit organization dedicated to challenging the construction industry to halve its carbon footprint by 2010 and be carbon neutral by 2030. also after the United States, to increase awareness and responsibility for the responsibility of the construction sector in the current environmental crisis. To this end, he has written an insightful and informative white paper called “It’s the Architecture Stupid.”
Mazria is not alone in its green housing crusade. Matthew Berman and Andrew Kotchen, partners at the architectural firm, see themselves as partisan soldiers fighting for a global cause of reducing the negative environmental impact of housing construction. In 2006, they won a zero-energy, affordable design competition in cyclone-ravaged New Orleans. Their project is currently under construction and consists of both houses and apartments that will be powered by solar panels and will have built-in rainwater harvesting systems. They are also designed to make the most of natural ventilation and will be made of prefabricated, sustainable materials.
In addition to the New Orleans project, Berman and Kotchen design bespoke, energy-efficient homes for wealthier members of society. As part of the pro-ecological campaign, they try to change the perception of status and space by their clients. While many wealthier members of society attribute wealth and success to the number of square feet they own, Berman and Kotchen try to convince them that smaller is actually better and that they can have wealth, luxury, and good design in a small space.
Wilfred Wang, one of America’s most colorful and controversial architects, says that to save the planet, builders must stop building. Instead of designing new buildings or demolishing existing buildings and replacing them with completely new ones, he argues, architects should modernize existing buildings to be more energy-efficient.
Many green housing projects have been proposed or implemented worldwide in response to the environmental and energy crisis. The Enchantment Way Development project was recently announced in Las Vegas. The project is part of a US Green Building Council pilot program to introduce green building techniques and energy-efficient design to the region. Part of the project will be devoted to creating the habitat of the Desert Tortoise and preserving the native desert areas.
The UK has its first all-green housing development project on the cards, with a proposed investment in London’s Docklands. The project will include wind turbines, rainwater harvesting, eco-friendly fruit and vegetable gardens, solar panels, a bike club and a car club. Austria has its own EcoCity, or Solar City, which uses modern insulation materials and solar panels to reduce energy consumption and a unique urban planning that puts all the facilities and amenities in the city within a short walk of each other. Australia is implementing the Aurora residential project with the goal of delivering 8,000 energy-efficient homes to 25,000 people over the next 20 years. And even India is stepping into action with the solar-powered Rabi Rashmi Abasan residential complex in Kolkata.
Many people believe that the current crisis in the housing and construction market is exactly the stimulus that green housing initiatives need to come under the spotlight and draw the attention of a desperate public to their benefits. A report by McGraw-Hill Construction and the National Association of Home Builders reveals that the green home market is expected to grow from $ 12 billion in 2008 to $ 40-70 billion in 2012. This suggests that green house designs will soon outperform traditional construction methods in terms of both popularity and profit margins.
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Source by Sandy Cosser