黑洞社区

Conventional wisdom has it that science and art are inherently incompatible, especially within the same creative mind. The notion of the architect as, first and foremost, an artist is deeply rooted, but some suggest a different mindset is necessary if buildings are going to function properly or be delivered on time and budget.

This refrain has led to numerous attempts at restraining the architect, but the separation of architectural style from the substance of engineering is the last thing we need right now. The science of sustainability requires a level of rigour and objectivity that the architect/artist cannot ignore, and yet there is ample evidence of delusion (to put the kindest construction on it) within the profession normally expected to lead the design process.

The Gherkin, Swiss Re鈥檚 City HQ, is the most iconic of the UK鈥檚 recent crop of tall buildings. It has been widely reported as a 鈥済reen鈥� building but where is the evidence for this claim? There is a fair chance that the building will be copied the world over so, if the sustainability credentials prove to be illusory, the damage could be incalculable. From my own observation, the building seems to be air-conditioned, has no solar shading and the fire officer seems to have scuppered the atrium air-paths. Nevertheless, if it is as green as it claims, we could all learn from its example if the actual performance was in the public domain.

Two more London buildings, Palestra and the Bishopsgate Tower, are examples of the same genre. The latter has a BREEAM excellent rating to boot. How is it possible for air-conditioned, deep-plan buildings with full-height unshaded glazing to get BREEAM excellent? It鈥檚 absurd, as clearly we can鈥檛 carry on business as usual and save the planet at the same time.

Then there was the 鈥渆co-chimney鈥� plan for Battersea power station, withdrawn after opposition from the mayor. The 300m hollow tower was justified on environmental as opposed to architectural grounds, the theory being that this ventilation stack would allow the project to attain CO2 emissions comparable with natural ventilation. Why not, then, use conventional natural ventilation, which would have avoided committing thousands of tonnes of embodied CO2 to the gigantic tower? The suspicion is that a low-rise, naturally ventilated development wouldn鈥檛 have the same marketing potential.

How is it possible for air-conditioned, deep-plan buildings with full-height unshaded glazing to get a BREEAM excellent rating? It鈥檚 absurd

It鈥檚 the gratuitous use of green labels without the supporting evidence that is potentially so damaging to us all. If the science adds up that鈥檚 fine, but if it鈥檚 bogus we鈥檙e no further forward and we could even be aggravating climate change.

Conventional wisdom also says that people who live in glass houses shouldn鈥檛 throw stones, but maybe that鈥檚 exactly what we have to do. Several buildings by my practice have not performed as well as intended. The Wessex Water operations centre in Bath took three years of post-occupancy work before we achieved our original targets; the Jubilee Library in Brighton is using more energy than anticipated, mainly because lights are being left on, control systems are not fully utilised and large numbers of people are plugging in their laptops.

I try to be objective about our buildings鈥� performance but I also know how difficult it is to get good data. There is reluctance to publish anything other than positive figures, lest an impression of fallibility is given to competitors, clients or, worse, the insurers.

We need to break down this resistance to sharing what we sometimes don鈥檛 want to hear. Publishing pre- and post-occupancy information is an essential part of UK Green 黑洞社区 Council鈥檚 quest for greater sustainability. Energy performance certificates are an imperfect part of this process but at least they are a start. The government needs to find a way of using them to increase the stock of available knowledge. Equally, we must find a way of filtering out the 鈥済reenwash鈥� before the propaganda gets the better of us. Repeat it often enough, and it will become fact.

Objectivity comes hard to anyone of an artistic temperament but for those attracted by the unlikely marriage of art and science, there can be no greater and more important challenge than sustainability.