If the greenest (and most economic) building is the one that is not built, Stuart Hodgkinson looks at how the architectural profession can adapt to the changing times to make sure clients can still meet their real estate ambitions – and unlock a host of unexpected benefits into the bargain.
Architecture and the profession of architect have long been synonymous with iconic new buildings. From the Parthenon (one imagines) to the Shard, these statement schemes have always had the capacity to delight clients, divide public opinion, inspire future generations and set new trends for architectural style. Most (if not all) architects seem secretly (or not-so-secretly) to yearn for the opportunity to make such a statement.
However, in the face of the huge economic, cultural and social shifts of the last few years, perhaps now is time to ask whether this will always be the case. Is this a tide that is turning? In the developed Western economies at least, is ‘old’ the new ‘new’?
The need for green
While we as architects might relish the potential of designing a new building tailored for location and purpose , it is hard to look beyond the view advocated by Walter Simpson (Senior fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) that the first rule of green design is this: “...the greenest building is the one not built… Green design advocates should first focus on avoiding new construction.”
The evidence is compelling. In an average year, new building construction in the UK uses around 50 million m3 of timber, 120 million tonnes of concrete and huge quantities of other resources. Waste from demolition is sent to landfills and energy and resources are poured into new construction. Government figures suggest that approximately 10 percent of national energy consumption relates to the production and transport of construction products and materials – the so-called embodied energy of these items.
Even assuming we could significantly reduce the impact of these materials, we would still have to face the environmental challenges of our existing building stock. At least 75% of existing UK housing stock is expected to be still in use in 2050 – the year by which the Government hopes to have cut carbon emissions by 60 percent from 1990 levels.
Issues of carbon and energy reduction are of course closely tied to economic arguments.
In these most straitened of times the construction industry, investors, owners, managers, occupiers, architects and academia are all waking up to the idea that there may be economic value in “greening” the complete spectrum of real estate.
This is being reflected in our system of standards. The most widely used in the UK, BREEAM, covers not just new buildings but also major refurbishments, and the re-use of buildings is recognized with credits for building and façade retention, with additional credits for reuse of materials.
And of course, as well as the long-term cost benefits of energy efficiency, the costs of refurbishment vs new build projects themselves are often impressively advantageous.
The weight of history
But the turning tide may be as much due to the weight of the past as it is to the imperative of the present. As a general observation, whatever style we think is coming next (or might dream of influencing) we in the mature economies of the West operate in an environment where there is a lot more old building stock from the past than there is new stock in the pipeline. As with all fashion, the fashion of architectural style changes with time. But unlike ones old clothes, buildings are somewhat harder to dispense with.
Fortunately, many of the buildings we inherit from the past have inherent qualities which can be reworked and rejuvenated - and in terms of style I would defy anyone not to appreciate the grandeur of a post industrial mill or the craftsmanship found in even the simplest of nineteenth century farm buildings . There is a huge amount of buildings in our cities and towns which even now remain underused, not only those of a listed and historic quality but also many other valuable buildings without statutory protection; old department stores and 60s office blocks , the weary and the unloved side by side with the upper stories of endless Victorian retail streets and of course the litany of vacant churches.
While this weight of history could be seen as the dragging weight of history, it is also an unrivalled opportunity.
In times when, perhaps more than ever, anything goes in terms of style; when the environmental and economic imperatives of the age require a new approach to building and the built environment; when more and more the essential client demand is for appropriate fit and performance; all of these buildings provide a resource which can be utilised and exploited to provide a basic form within which change can be effected.
So perhaps the ultimate challenge of architecture today is to move beyond the thrill of the new to the skill of the old.
