Page 92 - Shashwat - Let Nature Be: Sustainable is Affordable
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90 FEATURE ARTICLE
Photograph 2: The BIQ House: first algae-powered building in the world. Can our buildings grow like
trees? Dr Ferdinand Ludwig’s
How Much Is Enough? to heat, and, eventually, electricity. Baubotanik or Living Plant
Can our buildings create water? Construction, intertwines the
Is it enough to be sustainable structural system of buildings
or can we aim for more? Is it Vittori’s Warka Water towers with live trees, by not only using
enough to build ‘nearly zero in Ethiopia can harvest 13–26 the tree’s structural strength, but
energy buildings’ when they gallons of potable water from also absorbing carbon dioxide
could be ‘energy-plus buildings’? the atmosphere daily, while fog to strengthen its structure.
Can we give to the environment harvesting has been practiced in Baubotanik combines the wisdom
more than what we extract from Chile for many years now. of arborsculpture with modern
it? Can our buildings purify air? technology.
Pollution-eating concrete that Can our buildings be made out
reduces oxides of nitrogen in the of agricultural waste? Architect Conclusion
air and concrete that absorbs David Benjamin’s 12-m-high
carbon dioxide have already been tower for the MoMA exhibition in Can we live harmoniously without
developed. New York was made using bricks extracting more than what we
naturally grown from shredded can return? Also, can we repair
Can our buildings generate corn stalk and mushroom that which we have harmed?
energy? BIQ in Germany converts mycelium, thus utilizing agro Unless we reach this stage we
algae biomass—placed within the waste and reducing the building’s cannot truly become sustainable
sun-facing façade’s double skin— carbon footprint. and will not have to worry about
affordability.
Photograph 3: House made using baubotanik architecture
The materials we use are
often energy-intensive taking
into account embodied energy
and life cycle assessment, and
most financial costs are evident.
What is not evident is the unseen
cost of mining and depletion of
land and its valuable resources
that will not be replaced in our
lifetime—the moral cost. Mine
workers toiling in unhealthy
conditions are the ethical cost;
polluting of the groundwater from
mine leachates are environmental
and humanitarian costs that are
often ignored when we discuss
affordability.
Technological innovations are
largely aimed towards reducing
carbon footprints and combating
the impact of pollution already
caused; however, each of us can
also contribute towards saving
the environment by walking that
extra mile towards a healthier,
wholesome, and affordable future.
We can no longer afford
not to be sustainable. It is time
each one of us became ‘green
environmentalists’. There are, after
all, so many shades to choose
from. Which is yours?
DECEMBER 2017
Photograph 2: The BIQ House: first algae-powered building in the world. Can our buildings grow like
trees? Dr Ferdinand Ludwig’s
How Much Is Enough? to heat, and, eventually, electricity. Baubotanik or Living Plant
Can our buildings create water? Construction, intertwines the
Is it enough to be sustainable structural system of buildings
or can we aim for more? Is it Vittori’s Warka Water towers with live trees, by not only using
enough to build ‘nearly zero in Ethiopia can harvest 13–26 the tree’s structural strength, but
energy buildings’ when they gallons of potable water from also absorbing carbon dioxide
could be ‘energy-plus buildings’? the atmosphere daily, while fog to strengthen its structure.
Can we give to the environment harvesting has been practiced in Baubotanik combines the wisdom
more than what we extract from Chile for many years now. of arborsculpture with modern
it? Can our buildings purify air? technology.
Pollution-eating concrete that Can our buildings be made out
reduces oxides of nitrogen in the of agricultural waste? Architect Conclusion
air and concrete that absorbs David Benjamin’s 12-m-high
carbon dioxide have already been tower for the MoMA exhibition in Can we live harmoniously without
developed. New York was made using bricks extracting more than what we
naturally grown from shredded can return? Also, can we repair
Can our buildings generate corn stalk and mushroom that which we have harmed?
energy? BIQ in Germany converts mycelium, thus utilizing agro Unless we reach this stage we
algae biomass—placed within the waste and reducing the building’s cannot truly become sustainable
sun-facing façade’s double skin— carbon footprint. and will not have to worry about
affordability.
Photograph 3: House made using baubotanik architecture
The materials we use are
often energy-intensive taking
into account embodied energy
and life cycle assessment, and
most financial costs are evident.
What is not evident is the unseen
cost of mining and depletion of
land and its valuable resources
that will not be replaced in our
lifetime—the moral cost. Mine
workers toiling in unhealthy
conditions are the ethical cost;
polluting of the groundwater from
mine leachates are environmental
and humanitarian costs that are
often ignored when we discuss
affordability.
Technological innovations are
largely aimed towards reducing
carbon footprints and combating
the impact of pollution already
caused; however, each of us can
also contribute towards saving
the environment by walking that
extra mile towards a healthier,
wholesome, and affordable future.
We can no longer afford
not to be sustainable. It is time
each one of us became ‘green
environmentalists’. There are, after
all, so many shades to choose
from. Which is yours?
DECEMBER 2017
