Chris,<br><br>I really like what you are saying here about our planet saying no.<br>Sustainability has to reach down into every aspect of the design of a dwelling.<br>This also includes the bathroom:<br><a href="http://esrla.com/pdf/landfill_05.pdf">http://esrla.com/pdf/landfill_05.pdf</a><br>
It also includes the kitchen:<br><a href="http://esrla.com/pdf/landfill_06.pdf">http://esrla.com/pdf/landfill_06.pdf</a><br>It also includes what we do with all of the biodegradable waste coming out each day from the kitchen:<br>
<a href="http://esrla.com/pdf/landfill_02.pdf">http://esrla.com/pdf/landfill_02.pdf</a><br><br>Chris, all architects should take a course from you on sustainable design.<br>I really like what you are saying.<br><br>Thanks.<br>
Paul<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 6:10 AM, Chris Magwood <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:chris@chrismagwood.ca">chris@chrismagwood.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
It's been great to have sparked this thread. I love the people on
this list for the very opinions that have been expressed so far. I
think it's hugely important to pursue energy efficient buildings,
but we should be doing so using materials and strategies that have
the lowest possible embodied energy.<br>
<br>
What follows is the introduction to the piece I'm working on and for
which I was seeking EE figures in the first place. Thought it might
be of interest to those following this discussion:<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">Learning to Accept
“No” for an
Answer</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt"><u></u> <u></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">Human beings are
remarkable at
figuring things out. Put a problem in front of us – especially one
with a
solution that will make us wealthier and/or more comfortable – and
we’ll come
up with all kinds of solutions for that problem.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">Nothing triggers
our collective
desire to problem-solve like being told, “No, you can’t.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">The fact that we
hate being told
“No” is not necessarily a bad thing. Centuries of civil
disobedience leading to
political reform demonstrate the positive side of trying to turn a
“No” into a
“Yes.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">But what if it’s
the earth’s
ecosystem that is saying “No”?</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">As a designer and
builder, I am
constantly trying to make things possible for my clients. I am in
the business
of saying, “Yes.” As a sustainable designer and builder though, my
attention
should be firmly focused on whether or not the planet is saying
“No.” And when
I hear the “No” answer, I should respect it.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">Every time we
undertake an
activity that creates polluting by-products, we should hear the
implied “No”
coming from the environment. Every time we gobble up resources at
a rate we
know outstrips the rate of re-generation, we should hear the “No.”
Every time
we let our desires be fulfilled at the expense of following
generations, we
should hear the “No.”</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">The building
industry is in an
awkward state these days. We have the ability to deliver levels of
comfort
inside buildings that were unthinkable a century ago. But we
deliver that level
of comfort at a remarkably high cost to the environment. There
seems to be a
general awakening to the fact that what we’re doing is not
sustainable, that we
contravene an enormous number of “No” answers from the planet in
doing so.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">Designers and
builders
addressing this problem are in a real bind. We’re trying to
deliver in a
sustainable way levels of performance that are based on
unsustainable
practices. Nobody wants the planet to tell them that they can’t
have a home
with a perfectly stable, year-round temperature of 20C. So a
growing green
building industry is setting about to give us the comfort levels
we expect at a
reduced impact on the environment.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">I think that,
despite all our
best efforts, the planet is still going to say “No” to our current
expectations
of home comfort. I’m sure there is a level of sustainable energy
we can make
available, some mix of solar, wind, water and thermal energy that
can be
generated and used without widespread environmental destruction.
I’m equally
sure there are materials we can use to build that are renewable
and reasonably
harvested.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">But as sure as I am
of these two
cornerstones of sustainable building, I’m equally certain that in
order to heed
the planet’s non-negotiable request for sustainability we are
going to have to
accept different standards of comfort. A truly sustainable
building powered by
truly sustainable energy will not always be the same temperature.
We don’t need
to freeze in the winter or swelter in the summer, but we do need
to expect to
be colder in the cold season and warmer in the warm season. We do
need to
expect to participate –physically - in the gathering of resources
(water, food,
fuel) and recycling of wastes. We will need to perform
maintenance, live in
smaller spaces, and be dependent on weather cycles.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">Our ancestors
accepted these
parameters because they did not have the means to exceed them. We
have the
means to exceed, and we’ve been doing so. A move towards any kind
of real
sustainability has to be led by a choice to accept a life that is
a bit less
comfortable and requires a bit more effort. We’re clever enough to
figure out
ways to minimize our discomfort and effort, but only excessive
amounts of
energy and resources can support our current lifestyles.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6.0pt">As a designer and
builder, I
strive to achieve the highest levels of creature comfort with the
lowest
environmental impacts. I could build a willing client an entirely
sustainable
home right now, as long as they are willing to hear the planet
when it says
“No” and live within those means. Sooner or later, we will all
become that
client as we cease to be able to afford or access the energy that
allows us to
go beyond what the planet agrees with. But how many of us are
willing to make
that choice in advance of being forced to do so?</p>
<br>
</div>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Paul A. Olivier PhD<br>27C Pham Hong Thai Street<br>Dalat<br>Vietnam<br><br>Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam)<br>Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam)<br>
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