Dr Johannes Novy, Senior Lecturer from the School of Architecture + Cities, wrote an article for The Conversation about how we should be building less rather than just building greener.
In the article, he wrote: “Increasing attention has been paid, in recent years, to emissions resulting from how our buildings are operated: how they are heated, cooled and lit. Those due to the production and supply building materials and the construction itself have received less attention. And yet, they alone account for 10% of global emissions.”
Talking about sustainable architecture, he added: “reusing existing building stock is a complex issue. If not done sustainably, it can also cause a hike in emissions. But there are several other reasons why reuse has not become a more default option.
“Many architects have found that it was easier to make a name for themselves with glitzy new buildings than with sustainable design methods and retrofits, and, frequently, more – and quicker- money could be made by tearing down existing buildings and replacing them. Perverse financial incentives may play a role alongside other factors: In the UK, for example, VAT rates still encourage new builds and penalise renovations.”
In his concluding remarks, he wrote: “This is the industry’s inconvenient truth. The climate crisis is, in no small part, a product of our voracious appetite to build. It is not something, as climate activist Greta Thunberg has pointed out, that we can simply build our way out of. We cannot afford to only build greener. We need to build less.”
Read the full article on The Conversation’s website.
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