Maria-Christina P. Georgiadou
Centre for Sustainable Development, Engineering Department, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Theophilus Hacking
Development Director, University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, United Kingdom
Download article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/ecp110573277Published in: World Renewable Energy Congress - Sweden; 8-13 May; 2011; Linköping; Sweden
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 57:36, p. 3277-3284
Published: 2011-11-03
ISBN: 978-91-7393-070-3
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
This paper investigates sustainable building and low energy housing at a neighbourhood or city district scale. In particular; it examines how futures thinking on the energy performance can be integrated into the selection of building components; materials and low or zero carbon technologies. A multiple case study is undertaken in European housing developments that represent sustainable communities of ‘best practice’. A literature review on the need for long-term thinking in the built environment research is followed by the definition of ‘future-proofed design’ and its application to the energy performance of housing developments. The extent to which building strategies in selected urban settlements have been ‘future-proofed’ is assessed. The analysis of the case studies includes a set of identified trends and drivers affecting the energy performance of buildings by 2050. The building strategies that explicitly accommodate these future aspects in these projects are also examined. Results suggest that the vast majority of building decisions focus predominantly on cost-effective solutions; such as energy efficiency measures. The use of renewable energy technologies; low embodied energy components; and new methods of construction relate to a demonstration project or any specific regulatory requirements. It is shown that ‘best practices’ accommodate predictable trends and drivers rather than exploring a wider spectrum of plausible futures. This reveals the tendency to neglect long-term thinking due to the complexity of dealing with uncertainty and the short-term mindset of the building industry. It is concluded that building strategies need to be more flexible to adapt to climate change; accommodate future changes and follow the increasingly stringent building regulations. A new generation of decision-support tools that combine futures techniques with mainstream sustainability assessment methods should also be developed.
Sustainability; Housing developments; Energy performance; Future-proofing; Building strategies
[1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; IPCC Fourth Assessment Report; 2007.
[2] D. Devuyst; L. Hens; and W. De Lannoy; How Green is the City? Sustainability Assessment and the Management of Urban Environments; Columbia University Press; 2006.
[3] J. Burnett; City Buildings – Eco-Labels and Shades of Green!; Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning 83(1); 2007; pp. 29 – 38.
doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.09.003.
[4] United Nations; Sustainable Development Innovation Brief: Buildings and Construction as Tools for Promoting more Sustainable Patterns of Consumption and Production; Department of Economic and Social Affairs; Division for Sustainable Development; 2010.
[5] United Nations; Our Common Future; World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED); 1987; p. 43.
[6] SESAC; ‘Sustainable Buildings; Low Energy Housing’; Sustainable Energy Systems in Advanced Cities; CONCERO Initiative; European-funded project; available from: http://www.concerto-sesac.eu/spip.php?rubrique81; 2010 [cited 22 January 2011].
[7] J. Ravetz; Integrated Assessment for Sustainability Appraisal in Cities and Regions; Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment Review 20(1); 2000; pp. 31 – 64.
doi: 10.1016/S0195-9255(99)00037-2.
[8] Homes and Communities Agency; Eco-Town Report: Learning from Europe on Eco-Towns; London; 2008.
[9] Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA); Creating Low Carbon Homes for People in Eco-Towns: Eco-Towns Housing Worksheet; London; 2009.
[10] City of Malmö; Sustainable City Development; available from http://www.malmo.se/English/Sustainable-City-Development.html; 2010 [cited 22 Januart 2011].
[11] South Cambridgeshire District Council; Local Development Framework: Northstowe Area Action Plan; Development Plan Document; 2007.
[12] Department of Communities and Local Government; Planning Policy Statement: Eco-Towns A supplement to Planning Policy Statement 1; London; 2009.
[13] One Planet Communities: Earth Greenest Neighbourhoods; One Brighton; UK; available from: http://www.oneplanetcommunities.org/communities/one-brighton/; 2010 [cited 17 August 2010].
[14] P. Stasinopoulos; M. Smith; K. Hargroves; C. Desha; Whole System Design: An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering; Earthscan; 2009.
[15] E. Wilson and J. Piper; Spatial Planning and Climate Change; the Natural and Built Environment Series; Oxford Brookes University; Routledge; 2010.
[16] P. Hawken; A. Lovins; L. H. Lovins; Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution; Earthscan; 1999.
[17] T. Malmqvist; M. Glaumann; S. Scarpellini; I. Zalbaza; A. Aranda; E. Llera; S. Diaz; Life Cycle Assessment in Buildings: the ENSLIC Simplified Method and Guidelines; Journal of Energy; 2010.
[18] R. Shaw; M. Colley; R. Connell; Climate Change Adaptation by Design: A Guide for Sustainable Communities; Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA); 2007.
[19] T. Hacking; Improved Energy Performance in the Built Environment: Unpicked ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’?; Proceedings of the Conference on Building Physics and the Sustainable City; University of Cambridge; Cambridge; 2009.
[20] J. Jewell; H. Clarkson; J. Goodman; I. Watt; The Future Climate for Development: Scenarios for Low Income Countries in a Climate-Changing World; Forum for the Future; London; 2010.
[21] European Commission; ‘Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Energy Performance of Buildings (recast)’; 2010.
[22] Department of the Environment; Food and Rural Affairs; Draft Climate Change Bill; The Stationery Office; Cm 7040; London; 2007.
[23] Department of Communities and Local Government; Code for Sustainable Homes: Technical Guide Version 2; London; 2009.
[24] B. Boardman; Examining the Carbon Agenda via the 40% House Scenario; Journal of Building Research and Information 35(4); 2007; pp. 363 –378.
doi: 10.1080/09613210701238276.
[25] Foresight; Horizon Scanning Centre Toolkit Exploring the Future: Tools for Strategic Thinking; available from: http://www.foresight.gov.uk/microsites/hsctoolkit/; 2008 [cited 17 January 2010].