CA41 - š Green is all wrong
The first Zero Carbon Hotel?, LEED certified in 2-weeks, and the problem with the word āgreenā
NEWSWORTHY
āŗ 2050 Materials breaks down the embodied carbon benchmarks from the recent SBTI Carbon Benchmarks
šThe Regenerative Engineer (book) was just released from the Institute of Structural Engineers!
THE SPONSOR
A few weeks ago over 25% of you said you want to get LEED certified this year.
Well here is your first chance. Iāve partnered with Archiroots to give you 15% off all their LEED courses. You can pass the LEED Exam in 2 weeks, and itās all online.
They even have a free LEED GA study guide!
Just use the code TheCarbonArchitect at checkout.
THE TOPIC
As many of you probably have too, Iāve started using AI. Itās incredible the power and speed at which you can design and produce.
One thing that Iāve noticed consistently is the confusion around green, sustainable, and high-performance buildings.
Letās take a look at some quick examples:
Prompt: // A sustainable building in an urban environment.
Prompt: // A high-performance building in a grass field
What do we see? Lots and lots of greenery and lots of glass.
To be fair, for an AI to understand āgreenā vs āgreenā is pretty challenging, although if it had some intelligence it should be able to figure that one out.
ANYWAYS - what does this mean for us architects?
We need to talk about our buildings in the right way. After all, AI is being trained on the images and words we write about our work.
1// Stop calling your buildings āgreenā
As we all know, sustainable buildings are not covered in greenery! In fact they are everything but green. This term had a place in creating a vibe and brand for sustainable buildings, but I think we are beyond that point.
2// Start being specific about your sustainable strategies
What exactly are the sustainable strategies of your building? Is it low-energy, low-carbon, low-water, low-waste? Does it promote active transportation and foster walkable communities? Letās talk more about those specifics and less about generic āgreenā.
3// Educate on high-performance
This comes up in almost every issue, but we need to educate our clients and the public about high-performance buildings. What does it mean, how do they differ from traditional design, and what does it cost (short & long-term). This means posting on your websites, writing on your social media, and advocating in your city. We as a profession need to be more vocal about this topic.
TLDR:
People (and AI) are confused about āgreenā buildings
Architects need to:
1 - Stop calling our buildings āgreenā
2 - Start being specific about our sustainable strategies
3 - Educate clients and the public on high-performance design
THE PERSON
Naama has a bold vision: to change the conversation about what good development can and should look like; with that in mind, she co-founded Smart Density which is an architecture and planning firm that focuses on smart development. She is an expert on the Missing Middle and talks regularly on LinkedIn about great development.
THE PROJECT
Have you seen this hotel that is claiming to be the āFirst Carbon Positive Hotelā in the US? Pretty bold claims I must say, and Iām skeptical to say the least. The project is located in Denver, Colorado and is designed by Studio Gang. It used EcoPact low-carbon concrete to reduce the concrete impact by 30% and the wood slats in the lobby are made from reclaimed wood. Oh, did I mention to offset their carbon they planted a 70,000 tree forest? What do you think?
** This post contains affiliate links.
I hate it when people invent meaningless terms like "carbon positive" and pretend that planting 70,000 trees offsets making cement; "One tonne of carbon dioxide pumped into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels is not the same as one tonne of carbon stored in the tree trunks of a newly planted forest." https://theconversation.com/a-tonne-of-fossil-carbon-isnt-the-same-as-a-tonne-of-new-trees-why-offsets-cant-save-us-200901