As sustainable living and green lifestyles gain popularity, real estate market trends transform homeowner demands. Environmentally conscious lifestyles expect the real estate and architectural industries to stop damaging our planet. So, sustainable architecture addresses these negative environmental impacts in the real estate industry.
What is sustainable architecture?
Sustainable architecture gains popularity as the business world and consumers demonstrate greater ecological awareness. Sustainability helps the real estate industry meet housing demands and ensures lower negative impacts on future generations.
The foundations of sustainable architecture stand on the well-established elements of shading, sunlight, orientation and natural ventilation. It optimally utilizes natural resources and the conditions of the site without negative impacts. Materials that minimize the building’s environmental footprint, renewable resources and reusing waste are essential to sustainable architectural design.
Why choose a sustainable architect?
A sustainable architect develops a foundation for a sustainable lifestyle.
As public awareness of climate change increases, reducing carbon footprints and living more sustainably shift lifestyle choices. Recycling and using public transport are more eco-friendly, but they are only the first step. A more significant change a person can make to reduce energy consumption is to live in an energy efficient home.
Old buildings have high maintenance costs due to inefficiency and outdated technologies, both financially and environmentally. Thirty percent of global carbon emissions come from buildings.
Ultimately, the reasons to choose a sustainable architect fall into three categories: environmental, economic and social reasons.
Environmental Reasons to choose a sustainable architect
Sustainable architects ensure that projects are environmentally friendly. They consider the greenest options to design a naturally energy efficient home.
Economic Reasons
Energy-efficient technology reduces energy bills. Plus, adopting green technology adds value to the property. An energy efficient home often sells more quickly, for more money.
Social Reasons
Green designs enhance health and wellbeing. Improving the air quality, reliable temperature controls and more daylight have positive effects on mood.
So, when building an energy efficient home or adding an extension, a sustainable architect is a natural choice.
Homeowners prefer green homes designed by a sustainable architect
Popular real estate trends involve zero-energy buildings, energy efficient homes, and smart houses. Consider Switzerland, where they adopted sustainable building methods and techniques to meet rising demand for eco-friendly homes. Environmentally savvy homeowners want green houses that help them maintain good health while protecting the planet and preserving natural resources.
What is sustainable design?
A combination of renewable energies, energy efficiency, organic design elements and natural materials minimises environmental damage and reduces energy consumption.
Traditional building processes have negative environmental implications by consuming water and energy resources and by releasing greenhouse gases. Green buildings have specific features in common.
Energy efficiency
A top priority in sustainable architecture is implementing solutions to generate or capture energy. Sustainable architects use building materials that minimise the building’s energy consumption, like good insulation and energy-efficient lighting. Sometimes, renewable energy resources to generate electricity for the building are part of the energy efficient home design.
Green building materials
Sustainable building materials offer a myriad of choices. Used wood from old buildings, cork, straw, oak, and sorghum are great choices. Bamboo renews in just a few years, so many sustainable architects use bamboo for flooring or other décor.
Rainwater harvesting and water-efficient water fittings
Rainwater harvesting is a popular strategy to reduce domestic water waste. Collected in large containers, residents water plants, flush toilets and supply cooling towers. The installation of water-efficient fittings like faucets and flush mechanisms use much less water.
Site sustainability
Sustainable architects promote a building design and operation process with minimum environmental impact. Site sustainability ensures the building contributes nothing to the heat urban island effect, has vegetation to absorb rainwater, and takes advantage of sunlight to reduce energy consumption.
Sustainable architects provide innovative strategies to minimise the impact of construction on the planet. These fundamental strategies for building practices radically reduce environmental impact while creating a foundation for sustainable living.