SUSTAINABLE

ARCHITECTURE
MODULE 1
S9 B.ARCH
“SUSTAINABILITY”

ECONOMIC
PROGRESS

ENVIRONMENT

SOCIAL
NATURE HUMAN

“PERSPECTIVE”
“BEHAVIOUR/ATTITUDE”
‘Behaving in a way that can be continued’
 DEFINING “SUSTAINABILITY”
"Humanity has the ability to
make development sustainable
to ensure that it meets the
needs of the present without
compromising the ability of
future generations to meet
their own needs“

The Brundtland Commission Report (1983)

Report of the World Commission on

Environment and Development:
Our Common Future:
From One Earth to One World

Further Reading: Carson, Rachel (1962), Silent Spring, published by Houghton Mifflin
REDEFINING “DEVELOPMENT”
• Concept of development prior to Bruntland report
was “Greater production is the key to prosperity and
peace”
• Bruntland report redefined the concept of
‘development’ as “Ecology and economy are
interlocked and embedded in society and must be
thought of together”

“SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT”
 THE THREE SPHERES OF
SUSTAINABILITY

Three Concentric Models (old) Overlapping Circles Model

‘Economic’ and ‘Social’ Spheres Three spheres of equal importance
depending on ‘Environment’
 SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

1. ENERGY
2. MATERIAL
3. WATER
ECONOMY OF
RESOURCES

1. PRESERVATION
OF NATURAL
SETTINGS HUMAN LIFE CYCLE
DESIGN DESIGN 1. PRE-BUILDING
2. SITE PLANNING/
2. BUILDING
URBAN DESIGN
3. POST-
3. HUMAN
BUILDING
COMFORT
 ECONOMY OF NATURAL
RESOURCES IN BUILDINGS
c
o
I r O m n
n e u a s
p d t n e
u u p a r
t c u g v
t t e a
i m t
o e i
n n o
t n

• Any resource entered in building construction will come out

from it called “Law of Resource Flow Conservation”
• Energy Conservation
• Material Conservation
• Water Conservation
ECONOMY OF
RESOURCES
 LIFE CYCLE DESIGN E
F
• Environmental F
consequences I
of the building C
in all three I
phases of life E
N
cycle
C
Y
LIFE CYCLE
DESIGN
HUMANE DESIGN
• Minimizing the impact on local
eco system
• Reduce Energy and water
L demands through co-operative
I planning
V
A• Improved productivity, reduced
B stress, and positive effect on
I health and well being
L
I
T
Y
REFERENCES
 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
LIFE LAND
ECOLOGY/ EARTH/
BIODIVERSITY SOIL

WATER
SUSTAINABILITY
GROUND/
SURFACE

ENERGY
RENEWABLE/NON AIR
-RENEWABLE

An environmentally sustainable system must maintain a stable resource base,

avoiding over-exploitation of renewable resource systems or environmental
sink functions, and depleting non-renewable resources only to the extent that
investment is made in adequate substitutes. This includes maintenance of
biodiversity, atmospheric stability, and other ecosystem functions not ordinarily
classed as economic resources.
Harris, Jonathan (2000), Tufts University, G-DAE Working Paper No. 00-04: “Basic Principles of Sustainable Development”
 RESOURCES

Land, Water, Soil,

Flora/Fauna, Minerals,
Power,
Surveyed, Quality and
Quantity determined, used
presently Exist in a region which can
be used in future
Non-Living

Obtained from the bio-

sphere-
atmosphere/hydrosphere/
lithosphere/ecosphere

Source: http://gradestack.com/CBSE-Class-8th-Complete/Resources/Types-of-Resources/14828-2938-2224-study-wtw
RENEWABLE AND
NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES
CONCERNS
Direct and
indirect effects
1. Renewable resources are utilized beyond on poor-
creating social
their regenerative Capacity un-sustainability

2. Non-renewable resources are depleted with

insufficient savings
3. The ‘sink’ capacity of environment is
overburdened by pollution, which damages
human health and ecosystem

STOCK AND FLOW OF NATURAL CAPITAL

STOCK- Historical Endowment of Resources
FLOW- Resource extraction leading to depletion of stock
 WHY?
Climate Change!
• Sea Level Rise
• Global Temperature rise
• Warming oceans
• Shrinking ice sheets
• Declining arctic Sea Ice
• Glacial Retreat
• Extreme events Source: http://climate.nasa.gov
• Ocean acidification
• Decreased snow cover
Presently, buildings contribute as much as one third of the
total green house gas emissions!
Source: http://www.unep.org/sbci/pdfs/SBCI-BCCSummary.pdf

Further Watching: (Movie)The Inconvenient Truth

SPACE-SHIP-EARTH
CONCEPT
A concept to denote the finite/limited resources and need to live
in the “whole system”-
• A stable, circular-flow high-level technology is conceivable in
which we devote inputs of energy to the concentration of
materials into useful form, sufficient to compensate for the
diffusion of materials which takes place in their use.
(http://www.colorado.edu/economics/morey/4999Ethics/Boulding-
EARTH%20AS%20A%20SPACE%20SHIP1965.pdf)

• Origins of the term-

1. Henry George(1879), Progress and Poverty
2. Ward, Barbara, Spaceship Earth
3. Kenneth, E, Boulding (1966), The Economics of Coming
spaceship Earth
4. Fuller, Buckminister (1968), Operating Manual for Spaceship
Earth
MEASURING (ENVIRONMENT)
SUSTAINABILITY
“Environment Sustainability Index” (ESI)
Driving- Force- Pressure- State- Impact- Response Framework
(DPSIR)

Dash, Prupanwita (2011), Environment Sustainability Index for Indian States 2011, Centre for Development Finance
ESI INDICATORS

Dash, Prupanwita (2011), Environment Sustainability Index for Indian States 2011, Centre for Development Finance
 ESI INDICATORS

Dash, Prupanwita (2011), Environment Sustainability Index for Indian States 2011, Centre for Development Finance
 ESI OF INDIAN STATES

Dash, Prupanwita (2011), Environment Sustainability Index for Indian States 2011, Centre for Development Finance
 ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY
“Beyond Capitalism and Socialism”
Holistic Approach- termed “Holism” coined by Jan Smuts (1926)
“Wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts”-eg. A plant as
an organism is more than leaves, stem or roots
Capitalism- relied on breaking complex systems down into simpler parts
in order to understand and manage them (John Fullerton, JP Morgan)
Thus Sustainable Economic Development requires a Radical Change
from Capitalism termed as “Regenerative Capitalism” (Capital
Institute Report)
The Regenerative Capitalism requires recognizing the proper
functioning of complex wholes, economy, cannot be understood without
the on going, dynamic relationships among parts that give rise to
greater wholes”.
This requires close analysis of supply chains, investigations of the
effects of water use, circular economy initiatives, community
economic development work etc

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/apr/21/regenerative-economy-holism-economy-climate-change-
inequality?CMP=share_btn_fb
 SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY
 ‘Main agents of habitat destruction and environmental degradation
as poverty, population pressure, social inequity and the terms of
trade’. - World Conservation Strategy (1980)
 “Triple Bottom Line Theory”- We Cannot achieve a desired level
of ecological/economic/social sustainability without achieving a
minimum basic level of all three forms of sustainability
simultaneously- John Elkington (1997)
 Social Sustainability- Life enhancing condition within
communities, and a process within communities that can achieve
that condition
EQUITY
PARTICIPATION
INDEPENDECE

Further Reading: Sen, Amartya (1999), Development as Freedom, New York: Oxford University Press