Research on low-carbon and zero-emission building design across North America and Europe, published prior to both the devastating bushfires and the pandemic, reinforce the urgency for us to deliver resilient, low-carbon buildings. If the bushfires taught us anything, it is the diminishing time frame we have to curb climate change.
Yet we cannot be paralysed with the fear that rapid transition is impossible. This year has shown us how enormously capable we are at adapting to previously unimaginable change in a matter of weeks. This is presenting us with an opportunity to recalibrate, and fundamentally, rethink our approach to the built environment. Shifting our focus from why to how is more critical than ever. Architects play a vital role as we have direct access to sculpt both the embodied and operational carbon of buildings before they leave the drawing board.
The challenge extends further though – to ensure buildings once built, also enhance the lives of those who occupy them and offer resilience in the face of a rapidly changing climate. Vancouver, New York City and Brussels are exemplary cities that have demonstrated true leadership in decarbonising their built environment in a short time-frame.
Architects offer some valuable insight into how they are tackling this challenge within their own practices. Sebastian Moreno-Vacca, Director of A2M Architects in Brussels, has shaped his practice around designing buildings which address energy as a fundamental design parameter. He sees energy as the fourth dimension of design – its dynamic nature able to impact the experience of a space – whether that be temperature, light, moisture, materials or occupants themselves. He states that the language of energy needs to be integrated into the vocabulary of architecture and that the tools that enable us to predict, analyse and optimise the flows of energy are a ‘pen’ which enable a new type of drawing to unfold.
Since the early 2000s, A2M have adopted the Passive House Standard, which sets out criteria and verification measures to optimise indoor environmental quality with the use of minimal operational energy as the baseline performance for all their projects. Sebastian maintains that this is the first and most critical step in the journey to creating regenerative buildings. His team were among a handful of architects who recognised this and sparked the beginning of a revolution in building performance across Brussels, advocating for the Passive House Standard to be integrated into the building code.
With mounting political and industry pressure around climate protection and building quality, support from the regional government was gained to launch the Exemplary Buildings Program (BatEx) in 2007. This was effectively a regional competition which incentivised developers to commit to energy-efficient construction as part of a regional strategy to curb emissions. Eligibility was informed by the Passive House Standard and although not mandatory by the program’s conclusion in 2013, 243 buildings had met this goal and received funding. (EU-funded Passive House Regions with renewable Energies project; Passreg.eu)
This transformed market demand supply chains, construction practices and architectural design methodologies for the better, generating 1200 new jobs which simultaneously boosted local economies and improved the quality of life of those in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the Brussels capital region. Off the back of this success, the regional building code adopted this performance standard in 2015, forming what is now known as the Brussels Passive Standard. This took Brussels from a city with some of the poorest performing buildings in Europe, to an international leader in a matter of years.
Cities such as Vancouver and New York City looked to Brussels for inspiration, sending delegations of policy makers and leading architects to gather insights and transferable learnings from them. Brussels regional government and architects such as A2M have since provided support in the form of workshops, shared resources and collaborative advisory services to the local governments and industry organisations, such the American Institute of Architects, across both Canada and the US.
With the approval of the Climate Mobilisation Act, New York City is aiming for an emissions reduction of 80% by 2050 across both its new and existing building stock. To get the ball rolling, the New York State Energy Research and Development (NYSERDA) launched a Building of Excellence Competition. As per the BatEx program, it is utilising the Passive House Standard as the benchmark for ‘very low to zero carbon emitting multifamily buildings’ (NYSERDA Buildings of Excellence Co-petition, nyserda.ny.gov). In return for up to $US 1 million in funding, all winners must agree to transparently share information on design and construction processes, budget and performance data.
The competition is supported by the City of New York Council and the Building Energy Exchange (BEex) – one node in an independent network of international centres of excellence which seeks to connect the private and public sectors and form cross-disciplinary support for the innovators in the design and construction industries. It is important to note, that architects have often been at the core of their establishment.
In collaboration with the Zero EnergyÌýBuilding Energy Exchange (ZEBx), the City ofÌýVancouver has taken a slightly different approach,Ìýincentivising early adopters to embrace net-zeroÌýcarbon buildings without direct financialÌýincentive. The municipality is targeting a reductionÌýin operational and embodied carbon emissions inÌýbuildings by 80% and 40% respectively by 2030.ÌýIn order to do this, they have implemented a ZeroÌýEnergy Building Plan, providing a pathway to meet theÌýPassive House Standard among other initiatives. InÌýreturn for non-monetary rewards such as additionalÌýfloor space, height and setback relaxations; theyÌýoffer accelerated permit timeframes, removingÌýred tape and consult with the local industry aboutÌýovercoming foreseen barriers. Chris Higgins, GreenÌýBuilding planner for the City of Vancouver, notes thatÌýthis has been well received with 20% of ‘allÌýnew developments now targeting the Passive HouseÌýStandard, a major transformation to a green economyÌýis taking place’Ìý (Greenest City Action Plan City of VancouverÌýand The Age).
Despite fears that such an uplift inÌýbuilding performance will cripple the constructionÌýindustry, quite the opposite has happened. A strongÌýcommunity has formed where architects and buildersÌýexchange learning freely with each other (with councilÌýbeing part of the conversation too) working togetherÌýto overcome challenges as a team rather than fromÌýopposite sides of the table. Removing the competitiveÌýsecrecy between firms has opened up newÌýopportunities to progress faster and more efficiently (Shaun St Amore, Zero Emissions Buildings Learning Centre and High Performance Building Lab,ÌýBCIT).ÌýThe unanimous moto for the architectural communityÌýin Vancouver can be put down to the following: ‘WeÌýmust simply grow the pie so everyone’s piece getsÌýbigger.’Ìý
There are great initiatives being putÌýforward across Victoria already, with severalÌýmunicipalities now aiming to introduce Net-ZeroÌýCarbon Development amendments into their planningÌýschemes by 2021. (Built to Perform: An Industry Led Pathway to a Zero Carbon Ready Building Code, AustralianÌýSustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) and ClimateWorks Australia).
ÌýThis Green Recovery is extremelyÌýpromising; however, declaring an ambitious targetÌýlike this is only the first hurdle. We will also needÌýto formulate a clear roadmap for the industry to getÌýthere. As insights from Vancouver, New York City andÌýBrussels have revealed, there are multiple strategiesÌýthat could be adopted in Victoria to help us carve ourÌýown pathway. Utilising a proven building performanceÌýbenchmark, quality management and verificationÌýmechanism (such as the Passive House Standard),Ìýintroducing reward and recognition schemes (such asÌýthe BatEX program) and forming close collaborationsÌýbetween government and industry (as seen throughÌýBEex and ZEBx) we can establish the support, trainingÌýand knowledge dissemination required to build theÌýindustry’s collective capacity to deliver a carbonÌýneutral, resilient future.
Kate Nason is a certified Passive House Designer (PHI), Green Star Accredited Professional (GBCA) and Board Director at the Australian Passive House Association. A recipient of the Byera Hadley Travelling Scholarship in 2018, and with a background as an architect with the Victorian registration board, Kate has worked across multiple low-energy buildings including Certified Passive House projects such as the Monash Gillies Hall and several single residential homes utilising low-carbon prefabricated construction systems. Kate now works at Atelier Ten across a range of project types.
Published online:
10 Mar 2021
Source:
Architect Victoria
Climate Action Edition
Summer
2021
The ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ acknowledges First Nations peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands, waters, and skies of the continent now called Australia.
We express our gratitude to their Elders and Knowledge Holders whose wisdom, actions and knowledge have kept culture alive.
We recognise First Nations peoples as the first architects and builders. We appreciate their continuing work on Country from pre-invasion times to contemporary First Nations architects, and respect their rights to continue to care for Country.
