M9-Green Architecture

Module 9 - Architecture

GREEN ARCHITECTURE

In the last decade there has emerged a strong interest in developing “green” architecture – designs that incorporate ecologically and environmentally sustainable practices in site preparation, materials, energy use and waste systems. Some are simple: buildings oriented to the south or west helps with passive solar heating. Others are more complex: Solar voltaic cells on the roof to generate power to the building. Green roofs are made of sod and other organic material and act as a cooling agent and recycle rainwater too. In addition, technological innovations in lighting, heating and cooling systems have made them more efficient.

A branch of the Seattle Public Library uses green design. A glass curtain wall on the north side makes use of natural lighting. Overhanging wooden roof beams shades harsh light. The whole structure is nestled under a green roof of sod and over 18,000 low water use plants. Seven skylights on the roof provide more natural lighting.

Above: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson Architects, Ballard Branch, Seattle Public Library. 2005.
Image: Christopher Gildow.Used with permission. 

“Green” roof, Ballard branch, Seattle Public Library, with skylights.
Image: Christopher Gildow. Used with permission. 

And the California Academy of Sciences building in San Francisco harbors a living roof Links to an external site.. Click on the hyperlink to view a short video and explore how it works.

The Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center Links to an external site. on the island of New Caledonia in the South Pacific captures the prevailing winds in sail-like structures that disperse it to the building’s interior as passive ventilation. Architect Renzo Piano Links to an external site.’s design is influenced by the indigenous tribal culture of the island.

Renzo Piano, Tjibaou Cultural Center, New Caledonia. 1998. Detail showing wind filter. Image: Fanny Schertzer.
Licensed through Creative Commons 

Architecture is an art form that reflects how we present ourselves across the earth’s landscape, and, like other expressive mediums, it changes with styles, technologies and cultural adaptations. Architecture not only provides worldly needs of shelter, workspace and storage but also represents human ideals in buildings like courthouses and government buildings and manifestations of the spirit in churches and cathedrals. Traditional architecture has survived over thousands of years in one form or another, while contemporary design offers new approaches in how we use materials and technology to shape the look of our environment.