{"id":5927,"date":"2022-01-16T12:49:41","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T12:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pabconference.com\/why-buildings-have-become-less-climate-friendly\/"},"modified":"2022-01-16T12:49:41","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T12:49:41","slug":"why-buildings-have-become-less-climate-friendly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/2022\/01\/16\/why-buildings-have-become-less-climate-friendly\/","title":{"rendered":"Why buildings have become less climate-friendly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>\n  <noscript><br \/>\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.edu.au\/content\/169551\/count.gif\" width=\"1px\" height=\"1px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n  <\/noscript><br \/>\n  <iframe class=\"js-lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.edu.au\/content\/169551\/count.gif\" width=\"1px\" height=\"1px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" data-use-anchor=\"false\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--list\">\n<ul>\n<li>In architecture, advances in artificial cooling, heating, and computer-aided design have caused buildings to become less energy efficient.<\/li>\n<li>The &#8220;architectural throwback effect&#8221; has become particularly evident given how building facades have evolved over the past 100 years.<\/li>\n<li>All-glass buildings let heat in and out more easily than brick or concrete.  One of the experts writes that this increases their need for cooling and artificial heating in summer and winter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>It has been said that technology is the answer to the climate crisis.  By ultimately decoupling economic growth from its effects on the environment through improved energy efficiency, the argument continues, better technology promises to prevent catastrophic global warming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>But among the many things this argument fails to take into account is the fact that new technology has often encouraged exorbitant forms of consumption: from cars and private planes to kitchens stocked with appliances and air conditioners in countries with temperate climates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>The technology has also caused the so-called \u201crebound effect\u201d: improving energy efficiency leads to cheaper energy and therefore higher rates of energy consumption.  For example, buying a more fuel-efficient car will reduce your average fuel cost per trip and therefore likely lead to more trips, reducing at least some of the expected energy savings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>A similar trend is emerging in architecture, where advances in artificial cooling and heating and computer-aided design &#8211; rather than creating more efficient designs &#8211; have introduced already wasteful building patterns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>In my work, I call this phenomenon the &#8220;architectural rebound effect&#8221;.  This effect is particularly evident when we look at how building facades (the &#8220;skin&#8221; that covers buildings) have evolved over the past 100 years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--heading st__content-block--heading-2\" id=\"facade-failures\">\n<p>    Interface failure<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>The Cit\u00e9 de Refuge apartment building in Paris, designed by the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier in 1933, features one of the earliest examples of an all-glass facade.  But with no windows or air conditioning, summer interior temperatures reached 33 degrees Celsius &#8211; making it a &#8220;remarkable failure&#8221; of the architecture.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>To fix this, the facade was fitted with external shading devices and about a third of its glass was made opaque.  This strategy was mostly effective: Computer simulations showed that the upgraded design lowered summer temperatures below 25\u00b0C.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>Since the 1950s, all-glass facades without shading devices began to dominate the city skyline thanks to efficient and inexpensive air conditioning systems that allowed temperatures to be regulated inside these buildings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>But these new glass boxes came with their own set of environmental problems.  For example, research has shown that office buildings built in New York&#8217;s Manhattan borough between 1965 and 1969 consume twice as much energy per unit floor area as those built between 1950 and 1954.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>One reason for this may be the difference in window-to-wall ratio between these groups of buildings.  While the proportion of later buildings was between 53% and 72%, the proportion of earlier buildings ranged from 23% to 32%.  This means that more heat was allowed in and out into the former group of buildings during the summer and winter, increasing their need for cooling and artificial heating.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--image st__content-block--image-default\">\n<div class=\"st__content-block--image-inner\">\n<p>        <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/H3t9RImvOJafDgotUM7PRjqP33jDUE4r4e2kCLJpymI.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_Ih2R98PiavTTvXlM4DgjlUzmGO3nY9SHJeqjYFit3_Y.jpeg 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_h5hmh4gkEtkkgEjRtd-vNJFi56XuV3eGPH1NY-1TXO4.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_lqDRxI-dAq72HyVaHVRIRR_9uZ-xmSNJMTasmx-3yqE.jpeg 320w\" webp_srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_webp_6BDgxlz4HZaDYpSAICRlQHZQX8aTjdasN7NStLXZ4B0.webp 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_webp_89j9eJtjoUq4tdaWtr1R8pXmOoEHfT_MtrB1uaGbQh0.webp 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_webp_V8taqaQt7nNX6wDBActk4fxqWghBUhaVR7FuGURxCGw.webp 320w\" sizes=\"100vw\" html=\"{:loading=&gt;&quot;lazy&quot;, :class=&gt;&quot;&quot;, :alt=&gt;&quot;The Cit\u00e9 de Refuge after its refurbishment, with external shades and opaque glass.&quot;}\" use_picture=\"true\"\/><\/noscript><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_webp_6BDgxlz4HZaDYpSAICRlQHZQX8aTjdasN7NStLXZ4B0.webp 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_webp_89j9eJtjoUq4tdaWtr1R8pXmOoEHfT_MtrB1uaGbQh0.webp 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_webp_V8taqaQt7nNX6wDBActk4fxqWghBUhaVR7FuGURxCGw.webp 320w\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" js-lazyload\" alt=\"Cit\u00e9 de Refuge renovated, with exterior shades and opaque glass.\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/H3t9RImvOJafDgotUM7PRjqP33jDUE4r4e2kCLJpymI.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_Ih2R98PiavTTvXlM4DgjlUzmGO3nY9SHJeqjYFit3_Y.jpeg 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_h5hmh4gkEtkkgEjRtd-vNJFi56XuV3eGPH1NY-1TXO4.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_lqDRxI-dAq72HyVaHVRIRR_9uZ-xmSNJMTasmx-3yqE.jpeg 320w\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"\/><\/source><\/picture><figcaption>\n<p>                Cit\u00e9 de Refuge renovated, with exterior shades and opaque glass.\n              <\/p>\n<p>                Photo: IanTomFerry \/ Wikimedia\n              <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>Another problem with all-glass facades is the excessive glare they cause indoors, which means that interior blinds have to be pulled out most of the time.  This blocks occupants&#8217; view of the outside and increases reliance on artificial lighting, further increasing energy consumption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>These problems with all-glass facades still plague buildings today.  Now, parametrically designed shaders are often used as a solution.  Unfortunately, these tend to obscure the outside views of the workers inside, while maintaining the need for artificial lighting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--heading st__content-block--heading-2\" id=\"limiting-freedoms\">\n<p>    restriction of liberties<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>Should we prevent architects from exercising their aesthetic freedom in designing these extravagant buildings that harm our planet?  One solution might be to set a cap on the amount of energy the building is allowed to consume.  This will require architects to use passive design strategies &#8211; techniques that enable humans to live in challenging climates without expending unnecessary energy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>For example, by 400 BC, the Persians had devised an ingenious method of storing ice during the hot summer months using ice pits called &#8220;yakhshal&#8221;.  These were vaulted tanks up to 15 meters high and about six meters deep.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>By letting hot air escape through an opening at the top of the tank and burying the ice deep in the ground, the base of the yachal\u2014and the ice inside\u2014will stay cool all summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>An example from the modern era is the building of the Inspector General of Police Complex in Gulbarga, India, which uses a wind tower fitted with water jets to create a comfortable environment in a hot and humid climate.  The droplets from the nebulizer absorb heat from the incoming air, reducing the air temperature by up to 13\u00b0C before it enters the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>It is first necessary to determine how best to measure the maximum energy limit of buildings.  In current building energy rating schemes, &#8216;energy intensity&#8217; is often used, which refers to the amount of energy consumed per unit floor area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--image st__content-block--image-default\">\n<div class=\"st__content-block--image-inner\">\n<p>        <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/2jnZPopspgcTIAifz4eHWHTV3QeXBchGvwKeb4EA8mc.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_V79YdCmruSmMNIdCYwa30l303c5PSsHEMxKeNGh3Dn0.jpeg 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_1xdcoHmoAzE8J2JYUXwnRHhEOMU718r90OjaYixP9EE.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_WCI_SJpFZYQY3Ys8ilkwPuB8kLf0R66pQi8BrP4D2VU.jpeg 320w\" webp_srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_webp_GNp1sSOS2f0p8Qt6_eU-u0lUjMv5h_uqZSG2whsYmf4.webp 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_webp_1vcwdYBRycStwI5xk3L7JDlmMkUPpSFCB-PeYiOQZLk.webp 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_webp_fQT3p2nXx3PlF3mAwEM5Kmvx5RN_lb_FXkBVIbJXnr0.webp 320w\" sizes=\"100vw\" html=\"{:loading=&gt;&quot;lazy&quot;, :class=&gt;&quot;&quot;, :alt=&gt;&quot;This yakhchal in Iran was used to keep ice cool.&quot;}\" use_picture=\"true\"\/><\/noscript><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_webp_GNp1sSOS2f0p8Qt6_eU-u0lUjMv5h_uqZSG2whsYmf4.webp 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_webp_1vcwdYBRycStwI5xk3L7JDlmMkUPpSFCB-PeYiOQZLk.webp 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_webp_fQT3p2nXx3PlF3mAwEM5Kmvx5RN_lb_FXkBVIbJXnr0.webp 320w\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" js-lazyload\" alt=\"This yachal was used in Iran to keep the ice cold.\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/2jnZPopspgcTIAifz4eHWHTV3QeXBchGvwKeb4EA8mc.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_large_V79YdCmruSmMNIdCYwa30l303c5PSsHEMxKeNGh3Dn0.jpeg 850w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_medium_1xdcoHmoAzE8J2JYUXwnRHhEOMU718r90OjaYixP9EE.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/assets.weforum.org\/editor\/responsive_small_WCI_SJpFZYQY3Ys8ilkwPuB8kLf0R66pQi8BrP4D2VU.jpeg 320w\" data-sizes=\"100vw\"\/><\/source><\/picture><figcaption>\n<p>                This yakhil was used in Iran to keep the ice cold.\n              <\/p>\n<p>                Photo: Jin Meng\/Wikimedia\n              <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>But the drawback of this scale is that it allows very large and luxurious buildings to receive low-energy certification.  A more appropriate measure could focus on energy consumed in relation to the number of people using a building\u2014in other words, the building&#8217;s energy use per person.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--heading st__content-block--heading-2\" id=\"making-masterpieces\">\n<p>    Create masterpieces<br \/>\n<\/h2>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>A possible objection is that this may result in &#8220;boring&#8221; buildings without aesthetic appeal.  In this case, we can encourage architects to express their creativity by building structures that are not designed to house people and therefore require little operational energy to operate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>This would significantly reduce the environmental impact of these architectural masterpieces.  On average, 80% to 90% of a building&#8217;s carbon emissions arise from its operation, not its construction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>Moreover, many famous buildings have failed to function as they were designed to.  Mies von der Rohe&#8217;s new National Gallery in Berlin has suffered from cracked windows and heavy condensation, while Frank Gehry&#8217;s MIT&#8217;s Stata Center in Massachusetts has leaking roofs and excessive mold.  However, these buildings were not demolished, but left standing as examples of high-quality design.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"st__content-block st__content-block--text\">\n<p>Perhaps if architects channel their desire for aesthetic audacity into sculptural-like structures rather than buildings designed for habitation, they can continue to push the boundaries of design without pushing the planet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n  <noscript><br \/>\n    <iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.acast.com\/house-on-fire\/episodes\/can-humans-and-nature-be-compatible\" width=\"100%\" height=\"110px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n  <\/noscript><br \/>\n  <iframe class=\"js-lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/player.acast.com\/house-on-fire\/episodes\/can-humans-and-nature-be-compatible\" width=\"100%\" height=\"110px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" marginheight=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" data-use-anchor=\"false\"><\/iframe>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>        .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In architecture, advances in artificial cooling, heating, and computer-aided design have caused buildings to become less energy efficient. The &#8220;architectural<span class=\"more-dots\">&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1315,2016,2019,2020,2021,2862,5461,5541],"class_list":["post-5927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","tag-davos","tag-globalisation","tag-globalization-4","tag-globalization-4-0","tag-globalization-four","tag-klaus-schwab","tag-what-does-globalization-mean","tag-world-economic-forum","no-post-thumbnail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wijhha.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}