E Magazine on Green Architecture
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 01. 8.07
As usual E Magazine is packed with green news. The most current issue has a feature story on Architecture, some of which can be found online. They determine that the current boom in green building is being erected on three foundations; rising unstable energy pricing, health (aka Indoor Air Quality IAQ) and the sense people feel that they should be doing something to save their planet’s environment. And as it’s estimated that commercial and residential buildings in the US eat 65% of all electricity, 12% of potable water and 40% of all raw materials, there would seem to be good reasons for the interest. Examples are cited of buildings reducing lighting loads by 90%, but seeing payback in just two years. Others not only score highly environmentally, but show gains in product quality, employee productivity, and even reductions in absenteeism. In the USA green building is longer the domain of a few rebel builders, with some 30,000 LEED-accredited professionals now plying their wares. But is not rosy in the land either. As Seattle’s new City Hall demonstrates. A LEED Gold-certified building, it is said to use 15 to 50% more energy, in some months, than the facility it replaced. Issues of size and longevity are also discussed in the piece. (We must also point out the other myriad stories in the mag such as one entitled Not Finding Nemo, where a researcher reckons “all fish species are projected to collapse within [his] lifetime—by 2048”) ::E Magazine
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Green Room With A View: Denali's Cutting-edge, Off-Grid Visitors Center
- Renew Magazine: Solar Lawn Mowers and Community Wind Farms
- What Credit Crunch? Two More Ecocity Projects from the Persian Gulf
- Greenhouse Nightclub Opens in NYC...Not the City's First Eco-Saloon, Though
