Sustainability and Simplicity

Sustainability may very well be the most ambiguous term in our culture today. If you polled 10 random people on the street I would guess you’d receive 10 distinct definitions of sustainability.  Our class discussion this past week is no exception. However, one common thread seemed to stand out to me. It seems like concept sustainability typically brings up the topics of technology, science, and highly sophisticated building typologies. While I won’t argue that these elements all play a crucial role in sustainability, I think the simpler side of sustainability is overlooked.

Architectural design can archive a great deal of sustainability without any complicated science. Factors such as building and fenestration orientation, material sourcing and selection and construction sequencing all play extremely important roles in the overall sustainability of a project. Unfortunately, many of these simple factors are often overlooked. I believe LEED has much to do with this’ however, that is another topic altogether. The point is, shouldn’t we as architects master these simple aspects of sustainability before we worry about trying to create a scientific machine? By carefully selecting materials that are renewable and local, creating designs that focus on optimized constructability using local labor forces, and employing simple yet smart design strategies, I think architecture as a whole could come a long way without even getting into the high-tech side of things.