How Do We Incorporate Green (Sustainable/Ecological) Principles in Our Design/Planning:

Anasazi-Cliff Dweling: Ecologically sound architecture integral with people's life

Green, sustainable or ecological design is and should be always a part of good design. Discussions on the need for incorporating ecological principles in environmental design has been around since 1970's. Indigenous architecture-buildings and the layout of villages/towns have been almost without exception ecologically sound, sustainable and beautiful. In another word they are "green". Essentially there is nothing new in "green buildings", except that it has entered into the consciousness of many people.

We incorporate the various systems to make a project ecologically sound. The systems below affect the design directly and should be incorporated from the beginning of a project:

- Landscaping (drainage, land form, planting, irrigation)

- Geothermal energy

- Passive solar energy

- Solar hot water heating

- Solar electrical power generation

- Wind energy

- Rain water catchment system

- Gray water use

- Straw bale construction

- Adobe/rammed earth construction

The following systems are primarily specifications items:

- De-construction, recycling and reuse of materials

- Concrete with flyash

- Permeable concrete

- FSC certified wood products

- Insulation

- Insulating glass and sealed glazing systems

- No or low VOC paints and other non-harmful products

- Appliances of low-energy use

- Plumbing fixtures with low water use

- Electrical fixtures of low-energy use

Just as any other design elements, actual application of these depends on the project: the site, budget and owner's motivation.

Simply putting solar panels on the roof (or applying any other green features or technologies for that matter) does not automatically transforms a building into a great building. In fact some buildings touted as "green" are not necessarily well designed, and sometimes examples of poor or even failed design. A housing project designed and widely published as a great example of "green" architecture turned out to be a failure because the social and cultural context was largely ignored and instead modern Western design concept was applied to a foreign culture. Does'nt this sound familiar to those who know the failure of Le Corbusier's Chandigarh in India? What we call modern architecture would have not existed if it were not the fossil oil, politically (World Wars and succeeding destruction which required massive reconstruction) and economically(production and transportation relying on cheap energy). I therefore hold the view that modern architecture was historically an aberration. Chandigarh by the way is a good example of modern architecture and planning: isolated buildings, each with its impressive sculptural form claiming for attention (many architects followed this path), separated by open space called park, which has little relation with communities' productions and people's life. The city is not an expression or embodiment of people's life.

Integrated approach in design is therefore very important: We need to look at all aspects of a project-sociocultural context, site, people as well as "green features and technologies".

Japanese "Minka" (Farm House): Ecologically sound architecture integral with people's life