The New Green Standard in Sustainable Architecture
There is an ever-burgeoning list of ‘green’ technology, but have you heard — brown is the new green.
The discourse on damage
In a study titled ‘Environmental impact of scrapping old cars’ (2000), Dutch researcher Bert van Wee asks the question: Does replacing old cars with fleets of lower emission new cars benefit the environment? The answers are not that straightforward. One study concludes that if all Dutch petrol cars without a three-way catalytic converter were to be replaced by new cars, emissions would be reduced by 30%. However, this assumption does not take into account that shortening the average lifetime of cars will boost car production, requiring energy for car materials and assembly, which produces more emissions. The research shows that by retrofitting older cars with catalytic converters, high polluters may be dealt with more cost-effectively and with less environmental damage than by scrapping them. These questions have parallels in the built environment, too.
Building from scratch has its appeal — one can build using the most advanced carbon neutral materials such as CLT (cross-laminated timber) or fly-ash concrete, or use energy-saving passive thermal controls such as double-glazing, thermally broken fenestration, and geothermal regulators. But it’s hard to make a case for greenfield projects, no matter how ‘green’ they may be, when there are an abundance of existing buildings standing empty. Buildings are energy syncs. Like trees they embody CO2, but by using our existing buildings we justify the energy cost that went into making them.
A case for brownfield repurposing
With the current vacancy rates in commercial real estate, finding meaningful and productive strategies for repurposing brownfield sites may be the most urgent work for built-environment practitioners looking to reduce emissions. A prime example, architects Lacaton and Vassal were recently awarded the field’s highest accolade: The Pritzker Prize. This was in recognition of their adaptive reuse projects, most notably their transformation of the Saint Vincentde-Paul hospital in Paris, the renovation of a 1960s housing block in Bordeaux, and the conversion of a former ship-building workshop in Dunkirk.
Reinventing and adapting
The acute affordable housing shortage coupled with a commercial office space surplus (the result of remote working trends) are the perfect conditions for finding innovative ways to reuse our existing infrastructure. In my own Jozi-based practice we are currently pursuing multiple conversion projects in this vein. We’re being tasked with reinventing and adapting open-plan, multi-story work spaces as vibrant lifestyle communities. The crucial benefit is that developing housing in and around commercial hubs has the added environmental impact of reducing commuter distances and the commensurate reduction in the emissions associated with moving bodies from suburbs and townships to places of work.
With projects like these contributing to sustainability more than most realise, perhaps an appropriate question would be: Should reuse projects not automatically qualify for a Green Star rating? After all, reviving brownfield sites is an endeavour in greener practices, too.
Written by Gregory Katz. Photography by Gavin Arnold Goodman, Drawn to Light Productions.
This article is an extract from our August Issue. Read the full issue here.
