All that Glitters is not Green
Sustainability is undoubtedly the word of our times. Everywhere we go, we hear of strives being taken to limit emissions, to improve living and to live without compromising the needs of future generations. Within architecture and building however, a new paradox has arisen, identified by prominent architectural writer, Peter Buchanan. In his 2011-2012 series, The Big Rethink, he posited that sustainability cannot fundamentally be achieved with current practice in architecture because Modernism is fundamentally “an energy-profligate, petrochemical architecture, only possible when fossil fuels are abundant and affordable.” (Buchanan, 2012)
Anana Tower, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2008 (Now-Cancelled), Atkins.
Despite its iconic wind turbine and multiple sky gardens, we find that the 'turbine' is in fact an enclosed sky-dining hall, with no actual use as a turbine. Coupled with entirely closed glass facades, how environmental would this design have been?
Indeed in Dubai, and amongst other emerging economies, the apparent embrace of sustainability, is not truly or necessarily the case. Without any questioning of our existing systems of industry, we rely on existing Modernist building types, adapting them by adding “new ‘greener compontnes, such as more efficient mechanical systems and better wall insulation.” (Mehaffy and Salingaros, 2013). It appears clear to me then that this approach to sustainability is a superficial one. Indeed George Ferguson, former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects declared that Dubai will become “a disaster area if all [architects] do is add eco-bling to their buildings instead of dealing with the fundamentals.” (Alter, 2010). A lack of drive to change and reassess our processes and approach to architecture is therefore a larger issue than the simple existence and design of a building.
Barahrain World Trade Centre, Manama, Bahrain, 2008, Atkins.
While its claim to fame as the first tower to integrate wind turbines into a building is to be applauded. Is a fully enclosed glass facade with steel and aluminium frames, sat in the hot summer sun of Bahrain truly an icon of sustainable architecture?
Architects’ desire to merely add in ‘eco-bling’ to market an image of sustainability has meant that “what’s gained in one area is lost elsewhere as the result of other unanticipated interactions” (Mehaffy and Salingaros, 2013), whether through existing poor practice, or interactions between old and new fabrics. Buchanan for example highlights that we must “connect us with history while also addressing the future” (Buchanan, 2012) and therefore comments that “we cannot achieve sustainability without re-establishing this multi-dimensional sense of connection to and relationships with larger realities…” (Buchanan, 2012). It is far too obvious that often, in our attempts to obtain some form of sustainability, we undermine and disregard other aspects, such as production processes and we as designers fail to realise these wider implications.
Mehaffy and Salingaros further comments how “Systems may appear to be well engineered within their original defined parameters — but they will inevitably interact with many other systems, often in an unpredictable and non-linear way.” (Mehaffy and Salingaros, 2013). For architecture to be successful and achieve sustainable outcomes therefore, we must aim for a fundamental reassessment of not merely the object being built, but the processes and systems which are currently firmly in place and firmly destroying our environment. Only through a fundamental reconsideration of such processes can we strive toward a better, cleaner future.
References
Lloyd Alter. “Dubious Dubai: Eco-Bling on the Anara Tower.” (2008). Retrieved 16 March 2014 from:
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/dubious-dubai-eco-bling-on-the-anara-tower.html
Peter Buchanan. “The Big Rethink Part 2: Farewell to Modernism and Modernity Too”. The Architectural Review. (2012). Retrieved 16 March 2014 from: http://www.architectural-review.com/the-big-rethink-farewell-to-modernism-and-modernity-too/8625733.article
George Chapa. “Bahrain World Trade Center has Wind Turbines!”. (2007). Retrieved 16 March 2014 from:
http://inhabitat.com/bahrain-world-trade-center-has-wind-turbines/barhrain-world-trade-center-render-turbines/
Michael Mehaffy and Nikos Salingaros. “Why Green Architecture Hardly Ever Deserves the Name”. ArchDaily. (2013). Retrieved 16 March 2014 from: http://www.archdaily.com/396263/why-green-architecture-hardly-ever-deserves-the-name/