Sustainable Architecture-Final Draft

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Sustainable Architecture using London Experiences

Christian List

July 15, 2008

My rough draft had nothing to do with my writing behind this cover page and I chose to switch them up because I thought the current work would have more prevalence to the course. I decided to write on the topic of ‘sustainable architecture’ so later on in the course, I would have common place with Vicki. Hopefully we will be able to collaborate and form a fine group with shared interests.

I went about my writing using tools I picked up in high school and some of which I gained from composition one. I started with a pre-write and jotted down my ideas to eventually making an outline of my thoughts. When I actually started writing the paper I found myself going on tangents, including stories and personal experiences. I realize this was needed to make definition out of story, so I went along with it until I couldn’t recognize a high school paper; it was something new.

A positive aspect of my paper was the rejuvenation of my eco-conscious lifestyle. Since I started the paper and brainstormed its concepts, I have restarted my eco responsibilities in my home and transportation. I have enhanced my recycling practices, have been more energy conscious, and have driven as little as possible.

I need to work on my definition building along with developing my writing eloquence because I feel I could have better flow in my writing.

Common Sound

BedZED Photo

"Sustainable architecture seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space (Sustainable)."

When I research a subject that interests me, sometimes it eventually becomes a passion. Sustainability in regards to ‘green’ living seems to have fallen into this pattern. During my semester abroad in London, I participated in our London’s Urban Ecology course. The class was especially 'hands on' and we took more field trips than a summer camp; each one was devoted to some category of sustainability or green living. As I soon learned, London is one of the pioneering cities to take on so many green initiatives. This is due to their isolated nature and such high population. One aspect of sustainability that interested me during stay in London was 'sustainable architecture'. Key features to look for in sustainable architecture are buildings’ efficiency in heating, energy consumption, and building materials, while considering waste management.

While visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, our objective was to observe examples of past and present architecture from London and places around the world and find examples of sustainability. Some of the exhibits included the recently constructed ‘Gherkin’, Westminster Abby, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. The example that the class agreed on as a prime example of sustainability was the BedZED exhibit. "BedZED, Beddington Zero Energy Development, is a mixed-use, mixed-tenure development that incorporates innovative approaches to energy conservation and environmental sustainability (BedZed factsheet)."

The most impressive feature of the BedZED project is it is a carbon-neutral development. This means that the energy used in the community comes from renewable resources and does not omit carbon based toxins into the atmosphere. The community is powered by a combined heat and power plant. This plant is efficient because of the nature in which it obtains, stores, and releases its power and heating abilities.

“Combined heat and power (CHP) systems (also known as cogeneration) generate electricity (and/or mechanical energy) and thermal energy in a single, integrated system. This contrasts with common practice in this country where electricity is generated at a central power plant, and on-site heating and cooling equipment is used to meet non-electric energy requirements. The thermal energy recovered in a CHP system can be used for heating or cooling in industry or buildings. Because CHP captures the heat that would be otherwise be rejected in traditional separate generation of electric or mechanical energy, the total efficiency of these integrated systems is much greater than from separate systems (Elliott).”

The plant is powered by limbs of trees that have gone through 'surgery'. This is understood that the whole tree wasn't cut down, but a part of it was removed. Not only is this type of energy consumption sustainable, because there are no loss of trees, but the burning of the tree limbs has a neutral carbon effect on the atmosphere. The burning of the wood has an equal carbon displacement, balancing the carbon it took to grow the tree. Not only is the energy then used for such items as appliances and lights, but the energy produced is then transferred to heat the community’s water; the water is used for heating homes and servicing radiator systems. A large scale example of Carbon Neutral living is Costa Rica. According to the Carbon Neutral page in Wikipedia, Costa Rica hopes to be completely carbon neutral by the year 2030. As of 2004, 46% of the island’s primary energy came from renewable resources and while 94% of its electricity was generated from hydroelectric power, wind farms, and geothermal energy in 2006.

Another key feature, in which BedZED is efficient, when it comes to heating, is its use of rooftop wind cowls. These ZED made wind funnels are heat recovery ventilation systems that take expelled hot air from a home and recycle it to be reused. These systems are excellent when used in sustainable architecture because they are seventy percent efficient. Seventy percent of the hot air that comes from a home is being recycled for further heating.

The Romans were one of the first peoples to develop a way to control the climate in their homes, using the sun. They built their homes facing south, along the hillsides in row formations, to maximize the heating potential of the sun. This was intelligent because one home did not block another from the sun's rays, yet it allowed the community's space to be used most efficiently. This principle is widely used in today's construction, saving people in heating and energy consumption costs, and lowering a household's environmental footprint. BedZED is a prime example of this technology. Observing the buildings, one can see how this common practice has been taken to a new and advanced design.

BedZed was built using sustainable materials which mostly consists of lumber and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. In order for lumber to be certified by the council, the forests where the lumber originated must meet curtain standards according to its region. The standards for the U.S Southeast region can be found on the Forest Stewardship Council’s website. Certified lumber can also be traced to its original source. BedZED’s building supplies came from within a 35 mile radius of the development, which lowered the carbon emissions and energy used to transport the materials. The materials were also produced using low amounts of energy. Sustainable building materials can come in many different mediums other than lumber.

“Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable. Examples include trass, linoleum, sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, sea grass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fiber plates, and calcium sand stone (Green).”

Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation. In order for the materials to be sustainable, they must be harvested to a point were they will not be depleted.

Waste management within a household or community is imperative when considering one's ecological and environmental footprint. Did you know common plastic shopping bags, the ones that Wal-mart uses to double bag your half gallons of milk, takes roughly a thousand year to decompose and also releases toxins into the soil. Placing waste management practices into a building plan is sustainable in a home and for the environment. Waste products and used building materials can be recycled and reused in new building designs. Those forty plastic bags, accumulated during that one Wal-mart, trip can be used to build such items as park benches and playgrounds to improve social sustainability. One concept of social sustainability, used in sustainable architecture, is the construction of green and social spaces.

As observed on one of my London trips, green and social spaces improve quality of life. If you were to take just five to ten minutes of your day to sit in a grassy or wooded area away from the hustle and bustle of life. You would feel rejuvenated and relaxed. A prime example of social sustainability incorporated into sustainable architecture is Millennium Village in Greenwich, London. While visiting the site our class was focused on the importance of this development’s use of green spaces.

“The importance of a natural environment has also been recognized by English Partnerships throughout the development at Greenwich Peninsula. Three main areas of parkland have been created including an ecology park, and extensive works have been carried out to improve the riverside environment (Greenwich).”

The ecology park is accessible to all, for a small fee, and is free to those who belong to the Millennium Village community. There are small trails that wind in and around small ponds for people to walk through. Park benches are found along the trail for visitors to observe the wildlife and to reflect upon their stay. There is also an ecological education center at the entrance which gives tours to school classes and visitors. In fact the education center is special in itself. Because there is a roof garden on top of the building, it has been untouched and left alone; it now has the highest population and diversity of spiders, per square foot, in London. The structure is now protected and considered a preserve.

Visiting London was a beneficial experience because it broadened my horizons in terms of being environmentally aware. Eckerd College is known for its advancements in making a sustainable campus, but the Eckerd College London Study Center still had some improvements to make. During the duration of the course, I began to apply some of the lessons from the course into the house. These were mainly goals geared towards better waste management. I implemented a small recycling program where I concentrated on education. I even killed two birds with one stone when I took my class on a fieldtrip to the Borough of Camden’s Recycling and Education Center for credit. There, we were informed on London’s Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse initiative along with what is simply recyclable and what isn’t. It sounds a bit elementary, but one would be surprised at what can and cannot be recycled. At the house I recruited volunteers to take the recycling to the nearby recycling depot and instructed them further on better recycling practices. I even purchased the house a compost container. I take joy in bettering my sustainable habits as well as reducing by environmental footprint. I have already made a point to be more energy efficient around the house and use water in moderation. Sustainable architecture has been a subject I will keep with me from now on and when I build my side projects around the apartment hopefully I will keep in mind where my materials are coming from.

Works Cited

"BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) factsheet." media centre. 2006.

Peabody Trust. 15 Jul 2008 <http://www.peabody.org.uk/pages/GetPage.aspx?id=179>.

"BedZED - Beddington Zero Energy Development." Greenline | Design / Technology /

Sustainability. 2007. Greenline. 15 Jul 2008 <http://greenlineblog.com/bedzed-beddington-zero-energy-development/>.

"Carbon Neutral." Wikipedia. 13 July 2008. Wikipedia. 15 Jul 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_neutral>.

"Green Building." Wikipedia. 7 July 2008. Wikipedia. 15 Jul 2008

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building>.

Elliott, R. Neal. "COMBINED HEAT AND POWER: CAPTURING WASTED

ENERGY." ACEEE. May 1999. American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. 15 Jul 2008 <http://www.aceee.org/pubs/ie983.htm>.

"Greenwich Millennium Village, London ." English Partnerships . 13 Mar 2008. English