Green architecture
London has taken up the prospect of green architecture at a slower rate than neighbouring European countries, however green architecture is a technique that we can implement to decrease our carbon footprint and there are many innovative examples constantly popping up around the world.
One clear and perhaps most cost-effective choice for green architecture is the installation of a green roof. By definition a green or living roof encapsulates a rooftop intentionally housing vegetation to aid the environment. A green roof can range from a basic, lightweight turf to an entire biodiversity garden with wildlife. Through felling rainforests and over fishing the oceans we have continued to increase the impact on the environment, by opting for green architecture solutions such as green roofs, we can augment biodiversity.
Today's society has an advantageous opportunity to implement a multitude of positives for the environment such as green design. Some of these benefits include: increasing biodiversity, insulation, decreasing rainwater run-off volumes, providing green space and more.
Vegetation-adorned buildings have been around for many years, comprising of basic soil and plant roofs, however the contemporary green roof initiated in Germany during the early 1970s and since has made huge advances. Many cities are either trialling or implementing green architecture to help achieve a brighter and more eco friendly future.
Even in harsh climates such as Australia, urban planning professionals in Melbourne have introduced greener initiatives to grow plants off larger buildings in the metropolitan like the Eureka Tower. A native South American plant called a Tillandsia was placed on multiple floors including the very top floor (92nd) to observe their liveability. The plants positioned on the top floor and in the most hostile environment flourished the greatest, and results have shown that they have been not just surviving but thriving for many months. Essentially nocturnal plants, Tillandsia's greatest attribute and finest contributor to green architecture comes from growing at night which vacuums up pollution from the city's peak hour traffic. They also don't require soil or watering, making these plants the next big step to more eco-friendly green roofs in Melbourne. Melbourne is already home to approximately 50 green rooftops, and this modern concept could be the solution for overcoming challenges such as the severe conditions atop high-rise buildings, which essentially reflects the environment of a cliff edge.
Due to these small plants, a city's air quality can improve greatly because this will help decrease the amount of air pollution, by reducing carbon dioxide from the increased oxygen production, also reducing the heat island effect, which has been shown as the main cause of damage to the ozone. The urban heat island effect refers to cities that have a higher average temperature than rural areas; it is a consequence of decreased green space and the large amount of hard surfaces that lead to high thermal mass.
There are initially additional costs for installing a green roof; however the long-term effects of extending the life of a roof's membrane (a roofing system preventing leaks and allowing water run-off) and decreasing both the heating and cooling maintenance costs of the building will outweigh the construction costs.
Green roofs produce excellent insulation as well as a greater external aesthetics to a building's design. These positives have a knock on affect internally by creating a lower demand for expensive and non-eco friendly air conditioning during the summer months and a reduction in heat loss during the winter to ensure the building fabrics has a part to play in the overall efficiency of the building and its environment impact.
Today, architects and engineers can measure the sustainability of their projects with BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environment Assessment Method), which is an internationally-recognised measure for the standard of sustainability design best practice, rating a building's environmental performance. Working with contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, Fletcher Priest Architects and more*, in 2009 Watermark Place, a London office and retail group, achieved a high BREEAM rating with their two floors of greenery and photovoltaic panels installed on a sedum roof. For London as a whole, the main benefits of implementing green architure would be the decrease of storm water run-off velocity and volumes, thus reducing the risk of (flash) flooding plus, and increasing a cooling effect during the summer. The City of London have already in place a biodiversity action plan that supports green architecture in the city.
Read on for how photovoltaic systems are aiding developing countries here.
*Watermark Place:
Client: UBS Global Asset Management; green roof supplier: Frosts Landscape Construction Ltd.; Fletcher Priest Architects; Townshend Landscape Architects; contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine
