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Climate and Environment
Architecture does not happen in a vacuum - Architects have to
It is always easy to find a reasons for inaction, but there are real obstacles to the take-up of environmentally friendly construction techniques.
Information;
... it is hard to get at the truth which lies behind claims made for environmentally responsible materials - for instance in the supply of timber - and which are sometimes merely unscrupulous marketing ('greenwashing') ...
Liability;
... Architecture is a high risk profession in any case - specifying unfamiliar materials or using unconventional techniques increases the risk of a dissatisfied client suing the designer ...
Unfamiliarity;
... contractors tender for work on the basis of techniques and materials which are familiar - unusual materials and techniques are liable to be more expensive than they should be because contractors are not used to them ...
Availability;
... many environmentally desirable materials are not available through national builders' merchants - this puts up delivery prices and increases delivery times, and in any case delivery of materials from a specialist supplier at one end of the country to a site at the other end is environmentally self-defeating ...
Quality and consistency;
... unfamiliar materials can come on the market and disappear again in a short period of time - this does not help specifiers to become familiar with the techniques necessary to use them successfully ...
Signs of Hope
Statutory controls
... the minimum requirements for construction set out in the Building Regulations have been rising for years, especially as regards energy efficiency - they may not be high enough yet, but howls of protest from the volume housebuilders (accompanied by PR reassurances that 'we are fully committed to environmentally responsible practice...') suggests that they are moving in the right direction, as does the Code for Sustainable Housing ...
Interest
... clients sometimes ask for environmentally friendly construction methods and materials - though often with an implicit or explicit rider that it should not increase the cost ...
Health
... many of the environmentally dubious materials in use also have effects on the health of either construction workers or building users - this leads to pressure from both clients and regulatory bodies to find better (= "less harmful") alternatives ...
Market forces
... the pressure is on, and is producing results, including genuine commitment on the part of many of the large materials suppliers.
Political Will
... Climate Change has finally become a matter of genuine political concern, with a growing cross-party and international consensus that action is required.
revised 21 April 2009