Sustainable architecture is an architecture that reduce the negative impact of construction and buildings on environment. This should be done efficiently using materials and energy and ecosystems on a larger scale. The term sustainable is also known as green architecture.

Definition of Sustainable Architecture

Sustainable architecture is an integrated part of sustainable development, which is an important concern today. Sustainable development meets the needs and demands of life without compromising conditions and resources for people in future generations.

Continuous interior design consultants should be involved from the very beginning of the design process itself. This will help to estimate the sustainability implications of building materials, glass, orientation, and other physical factors to identify whether or not a sustainable approach could be used on the project?

The Importance of Sustainable Design

First of all, our homes and buildings have an impact on carbon emissions. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) recently confirmed that our homes and buildings generate 40% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, a sustainable design strategy is very important to reduce environmental damage. Any house construction requires or consumes a lot of natural resources during construction and uses enormous energy throughout its life.

Despite the known fact, that every human being needs his own place of residence, they also need a large number of natural resources not only to build a house but also to maintain the various functions of his home. This activity in the long run does have an impact on an environment that is constantly depleted due to excessive use or overexploitation of natural resources.

Second, the approach used in this sustainable architecture not only reduces waste but also uses sustainable materials, which minimizes environmental impact. We can build or renovate houses using energy-saving technologies, renewable materials and innovative interior designs.

Third, sustainable design lasts longer and is flexible. Building’s function when they are tethered to non-renewable resources and also when non-renewable resources are not available. Buildings can work well in the event of droughts or natural disasters without input from non-renewable energy sources. Designs created by free sustainable energy such as solar energy, do not require fossil fuels. Thus, buildings are able to provide a good quality of life and encourage a sustainable life.

Sustainable Building Materials

Building materials such as straw, bamboo, recycled plastic, wood, ferrock, blown-in fiberglass, sustainably harvested wool, trass, concrete, sheep wool, panels made of paper chips, clay, hemp linen, seagrass, coconut, fiber plate wood, calcium sandstone, locally available stone are some of the sustainable building materials.

The sustainable architecture also includes the use of recycled materials such as reclaimed wood and recycled copper or recycled metal. It is also important to see if certain materials are fully or partially recyclable or can be recycled and used or not.

Sustainable Architecture Design Principles

Today, non-renewable resources such as fossil fuels are increasingly expensive and scarce which leads to less overall production of clean energy. So, it's really important to start designing buildings and communities that function well without those resources.

As energy costs rise rapidly, fossil fuels, water availability, transportation and food become less affordable, impacting costs and functions. Thus, buildings created from renewable resources should be used.

Challenges arise about how to design such buildings without using non-renewable resources. The following three elements should be considered when designing a sustainable building:

01. Connectivity

Design relationships between projects, locations, communities, and ecology. The relationship between the use of local resources and the regional supply of sustainable energy is an important element in the sustainable design process. Make minimum changes for the natural system to work.

02. Local

Design with and for what has been sustained on the site for centuries, namely traditional structures. Sustainable design also prioritizes the use of local materials so as to reduce the cost of transporting and exploiting resources in a place.

03. Long Service Life

The design must be done for future generations and that reflects the sustainable architecture and design adopted by the previous generation. Renovating and reusing existing infrastructure is one of the most effective sustainable design approaches.

Challenges towards sustainability include existing buildings, communities, cities and regions. Buildings built in the world require little therapy to make them sustainable by making design renovations and hence they can be energy efficient. In any existing building, the principles of sustainable design can be achieved by:

-Using natural ventilation and daytime lighting

-Eliminate non-renewable energy consumption

-Providing a healthier environment for users

-Redesigning an existing building

-Renovation with local materials

Examples of Sustainable Architecture

Sustainable Architecture is an integral part of sustainable development, which is an important concern today. This principle helps in reducing the negative impact of the environment on buildings. "Green Architecture" is an umbrella term that is a combination of sustainability values and ecological architecture that includes social, political and environmental aspects.

Sustainable architecture and environmental issues are now part of the agenda of companies and local and international communities. And people can't get enough of it. The word "sustainable development" and the expression "sustainable architecture" spread in the world of design and architecture for two reasons: functional and formal reasons. An object that is considered sustainable must demonstrate ecological awareness, so its functionality must be tied through appearance to its relationship with the environment.

What is the definition of sustainable construction?

Sustainable architecture involves designing and building buildings to limit their environmental impact, with the aim of achieving energy efficiency, positive effects on health, comfort and better living comfort for residents; all this can be achieved by introducing suitable technology into the building. Sustainable architecture means being able to meet the wishes of consumers, taking into account the time needed and natural resources from the very beginning of the project, moving into context in the most natural way possible, planning in advance by making the space and the materials used completely reusable.

Why is sustainable architecture so important?

When designing a sustainable architecture, there are a few fundamental elements to take into account: orientation, shading and sunlight created by pre-existing elements, natural ventilation, as well as the use of biomass, Ambient Assisted Living and renewable energy systems, all created and incorporated with materials specially studied to interact with the environment and its properties.

An organist or bio architecture project must be approached holistically: from technical aspects to environmental, social and even psychotic aspects.

Sustainability in architecture is not just about reducing energy use and waste. It cannot be segmented into different subcategories, since it represents a fundamental and innate combination of factors related to existence on this planet. Choices that make an architectural or urban project environmentally friendly are not the only individual strategies; sustainable buildings must define the way in which the people who live in them live, for example by reducing the use of waste and energy not only in their own neighborhoods, but throughout the city.

Concepts and examples of sustainable architecture

The sustainability of the project must be a requirement, not a characteristic, and this has been the case since the construction of the pyramids of ancient Egypt. Modern milestones of successful sustainable architecture, fully embodying its principles and concepts, are often found in developing countries, where local labor and community are at the heart of projects.

Fortunately, architectural projects of this type are gaining popularity, although they still occupy only a very small percentage of real construction The sustainable image is in danger of being truncated and transformed into a typical wooden house, the vaguely comforting shape of which corresponds to the general image of environmental friendliness. So, could appearance be more important than content? A building that just looks appropriate is often labeled "green". A building is not only sustainable because it uses solar panels, although this makes it less stressful from an energy point of view, but sustainability is the sum of all its components, including social and economic processes. Declaring a building green, although in reality it is not, has become such a common phenomenon that the term "greenwashing" was created to define this phenomenon.

Materials used in sustainable architecture

One of the most important goals of people delving into responsible architecture is to recycle almost everything they use. Buildings should be modular, built from elements and materials that can be easily recovered, reused and disposed of without causing pollution by recycling them holistically or globally. The separation of modern elements consisting of different layers of material glued together chemically creates a serious problem for recycling. For this reason, the design of reusable, modular and adaptable structures has not yet become widespread.

The use of new materials has in some ways taken us backwards:

What many architects don't realize about a sustainable architectural project is that materials can have a different life and function than they originally had. The reuse and recycling of materials shall be taken into account from the design stage of the new structure and, in the case of dismantling, the materials shall be easy to find and re-use or recyclable through careful design.

Briefly, more and more often in the world of construction we hear about sustainable architecture and ecological houses. The word sustainability is becoming increasingly important for designers and architects for both functional and formal reasons, but it is often more a concept and a fashion than a concrete realization.

Building in a sustainable way means on the one hand satisfying the demands and expectations of the clients, on the other hand respecting the environment, harmoniously inserting the building into the context and reusing materials and resources.

It is an improvement in the quality of life, without exceeding the carrying capacity of the support ecosystems, on which it depends.

According to the principle of eco-balance, it is always necessary to consider the environmental impact at each stage of the life cycle of the building, therefore at different times and spaces.

Curiosity

In recent times another important principle is gaining importance: aesthetics. In the beginning, architects, taken by creating buildings with low environmental impact, neglected the aesthetic aspect in the realization.

Today, however, in the light of the principle of the psychophysical well-being of the inhabitants that is also connected to the beautician of the place where they live, the aim is to create not only sustainable architecture but also pleasing to the eye.

Sustainable Architecture: Examples

The AIA (American Institute of Architects) annually names the top ten of the most sustainable buildings in the world. The award, now in its 17th edition, aims to reward sustainable architectures that combine design, technology and nature, in the name of improving the quality of life of people and the world. There are countless examples of sustainable architecture around the world worthy of merit.

Crystal, London, UK: this beautiful London building has achieved the highest BREEAM and LEED certification.

One Angel Square, Manchester, UK: LED lights, rainwater collection systems and recycling of waste produced.

One Bryant Park, New York, USA: called the greenest building because it was the first to receive platinum level in LEED certification.

Shanghai Tower, Shanghai, China: This 632-meter-high skyscraper illuminates all the surrounding air thanks to wind turbines positioned on the roof.

Bahrain World Trade Center, Manama, Bahrain: Between the two sailing buildings are two wind turbines that produce energy.

CIS Tower, Manchester, UK: Built in 1962, this building is one of the tallest in the UK and has the largest solar façade in Europe.

Shanghai Tower, a Design Boutique Hotel Shanghai, China

Sustainable Architecture: Materials

The most important element is the energy efficiency of a sustainable architecture throughout its existence. To achieve this, architects use different techniques to reduce the energy needs of the building and to increase its ability to capture or produce energy.

So, the aim is to optimize sustainable energy. Architects for this purpose use passive techniques or active techniques. For example, as a passive strategy there is the thermal insulation of the building or the use of water energy.

Then there is the principle of well-being, that is, sustainable architecture also aims to improve the psychophysical state of the inhabitants of the building under consideration. Therefore, the architect must not consider the building as a creature in itself, but as part of a whole whose other elements interact, namely nature and the inhabitants of the building.

As an active strategy there are photovoltaic panels (which are not solar thermal panels) that thanks to photovoltaic cells convert solar energy into electricity. By virtue of the eco-balance principle, sustainable architecture must use materials that are easy to dispose of or recover.

You should never use materials that require enormous energy expenditure to dispose of them, which are difficult or impossible to recycle.

Are there examples of sustainable architecture? An example is the Juventus Stadium, built with the recycling of materials obtained from the demolition of the old stadium.

Sustainable design, then, is more of a cultural approach than a mere branch of traditional architecture; it leads to the design of a structure that minimizes its impact on people and the environment through the minimal use of non-renewable resources and the use of undamaged materials, in order to maintain the relationship between man, the building and the environment.

the multifaceted nature of design management leads to varying opinions, making it difficult to give an overall definition; Furthermore, the design manager has a wide range of roles and responsibilities. These factors, combined with various other influences such as the industry involved, the size of the company, market conditions, and the importance of design in the organization's activities. As a result, design management is not limited to one design discipline and usually depends on the context of its application in individual organizations.

At the abstract level, design management plays three main roles in the design, organization and market interface. The three main roles are for:

Align a design strategy with a corporate or brand strategy, or both

Manage quality and consistency of design results across and in different design disciplines (design class)

Improve new methods of user experience, create new solutions for user needs, and differentiate from competitors' designs.

In product-focused companies, design management is primarily focused on product design management, including strong interaction with product design, product marketing, research and development and new product development. This design management perspective focuses primarily on the aesthetic, semiotic and ergonomic aspects of the product to express product quality and to manage a diverse product group and product design platform and can be used together with a consumer-centered design perspective.