Abstract

This chapter outlines the characteristics of so-called sustainable architecture citing examples from current practice. ‘So-called’ because it should be established from the outset that it is very rare to find a truly sustainable building. Nearly every act of building damages the environment in some way: in excavating the site, the existing ecology is harmed; in moving materials, transport routes are polluted by noise and emissions; in providing heating or cooling, carbon dioxide is often released. All we can say with a modicum of certainty is that some buildings are more sustainable than others.