Sustainable Architectureforthe 21st Century, Part II: critical resources and the built environment

1. Sustainable Architecture for the 21st Century
Part II: critical resources and the built environment
JOHN E. FERNÁNDEZ, DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, MIT
AMMAN, JORDAN : JUNE 2007

2. source: Houghton, J.T. et al. (2001) Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: pg. 29

3. Sustainable Architecture is
design and construction of the
1.built environment that carefully
allocates appropriate levels of
2.critical resources to address the
primary needs of
3.distinct regions.

4. What is the built
1
environment?
What are critical
2
resources?
What strategies
3
work best?

5. 1 What is the built environment?

6. Global Cities
• Half the world’s people - a majority on the coasts
• By 2030, the global population = 61% urban
• 50-80% CO2, 75% wood consumption, 60% H2O
• Increasingly poor urban world
• Asia accounts for half of the world’s urban population
• United Nations estimates that between 2000 and 2010,
85% of world population growth will be in urban areas
(virtually all of this growth will be in Africa, Asia and
Latin America).
Therefore, cities are the centers of the majority of
resource consumption (and contributors to global
climate change)
source: McGranahan, G. and D. Satterthwaite. 2003. Urban Centers: An Assessment of Sustainability. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour. 28:243-74.

9. What are critical resources?
2

10. ~40 percent of primary energy use
US Energy flows 2003
(Quadrillion Btu)
~60-70 percent of electricity
19% of global electricity consumption devoted to
artificial lighting
source: IEA

11. 70% total societal
material
throughput
20-30% municipal
waste stream*
* Developed countries - source: Wagner, L. 1997., Fernández, J. 2006.

12. CHINA
5-8% of total anthropogenic
CO2 emissions.
source: Low, M. (2005) MFA of concrete in the US. MSBT thesis, MIT: pg. 16 adapted from:Van Oss, Hendrik G. and Padovani, Amy C.

13. 6 billion
3 billion
source: Living Planet Report 2006, World Resources Institute.

14. Lifecycle energy, % of total
3
What strategies work best?

15. Sampling of strategies
1. Computer aided integrated design (mat. selection)
2. Passive heating and cooling (insulation/thermal mass)
3. High performance exterior envelopes (aerogel/textiles)
4. Building rating system (LEED/USGBC)
5. Urban Metabolism for sustainable communities (New
Orleans/Los Angeles)
Scales of inquiry:
a. materials and component (micro)
b. building and building system (meso)
c. community and city (macro)
Columbia University Law School
Amsterdam and 116 Street: New York City

16. Screen capture of:
Fernandez-Ashby Material
Selector for Architecture
and the Built Environment
www.grantadesign.com

18. “Labyrinth” concrete thermal mass

20. The Passive House Institute: http://www.passiv.de/

21. Lucille Ynoscencio: MArch cand.: 2007

23. Aerogel Exterior Envelope System

25. A: Exterior finish and mechanical barrier
B: Air barrier
C. Radiant barrier
D. Insulation pocket
E. Insulation
F. Insulation pocket
G. Vapor retarder
H. Flame resistant textile
I. Interior finish and mechanical barrier

27. Natural fiber reinforced concrete

28. Fernández, J. Materials for aesthetic, energy efficient and self-diagnostic
buildings. Science, V315,N5820, March 30, 2007: 1807-1810.

29. Test

30. Average
Savings of
Green
Buildings WASTE
COST
WATER SAVINGS
USE 50-90%
CARBON SAVINGS
SAVINGS 30-50%
35%
ENERGY
SAVINGS
30%
Test
Source:
Capital E

31. $200 BILLION
Estimated value
PROJECTED
of new LEED for
New Construction $10
registered projects BILLION
$7.73 BILLION
The value of U.S.
construction
starts significantly
declined by
almost half from
$5.76 BILLION
2000 to 2003
$3.81 BILLION
$3.24 BILLION
$792 MILLION
Test
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2006

32. 200+
LEED for new construction Distribution
100-199
buildings as of 07/06 by geography 50-99
20-49
1-19
186
480
23 (DE)
24 (NH)
134
174
33
9
4 22 173 105
119
36
11 9
11
68
120 12
AK=10 23 79
40 61 27
HI=16 28 69 14 95 9 (DE) 38 (DC)
PR=1 19 4
57
8 74
5 (OK)
11
82 25
22 52
102
125 19 18
6
6
73
Test

35. Tom Weathers: MArch, 2007

36. Mapping resource
opportunities (renewable
and downcycle)
ISEE STELLA
systems model

38. Energy efficient
housing prototype
F
natural
ventilation
D
E
D
A. Zero-energy community center and rescue shelter
B. Emergency water cistern
C. Thermal storage reservoir of phase change material slurry
D. Micro wind turbines and building integrated photovoltaics
E. Emergency power source
F. Local surge break (gambion construction)
Coastal Housing: Energy efficient, hurricane resistant & resilient communities

39. Fernández, J. Materials for aesthetic, energy efficient and self-diagnostic
buildings. Science, V315,N5820, March 30, 2007: 1807-1810.
Fernández, John. 2006. Material Architecture, emergent materials for innovative
buildings and ecological construction. (Arch. Press, Oxford).
www.grantadesign.com