Green/Sustainable Architecture

Musings from CML Architects & Builders, LTD.

By Charles Lee

Before I begin, I’d be the first person to acknowledge that I don’t know much about Green Architecture; however, I am hopeful that I would sooner than later gather up enough knowledge on this matter to become a responsible and accountable global citizen.

What does it mean to build Green?

What is Green/Sustainable Architecture?

From November 7^th through 9^th, Chicago is hosting GREEN · BUILD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND EXPO at McCormick Place. I am hoping that attending this event will give me some insights as to what Green/Sustainable Architecture means.

The Industrial Revolution gave us the mechanical muscles to push us forward into the modern era of amazing technological advancement. However, it has also polluted our planet earth with an unprecedented scale and speed in the history of the earth. After working those industrial muscles since the 18^th century to mass produce and push goods for consumption, we’ve come to the realization that those muscles of production are slowly suffocating us and our planet earth and that if we don’t start doing something about it soon, we will all have to suffer dire consequences, and that our future generations are going to have to pay for our inaction in preventing the future eco-disasters.

The Industrial Revolution has proven to be not sustainable because of its very polluting nature for it depends heavily on fossil fuel as its primary energy source. We’ve come to the realization that we have to sooner or later abandon our old ways of doing business as usual and find some new ways that are eco-friendly and possibly self-renewable. Anything that is not sustainable will eventually wither out and come to its end. There have been many pioneering experiments about Going Green. I believe that Going Green, for it to be truly effective, has to turn itself into a kind of popular cultural movement based on the belief that this is something that we all must do for our sons and daughters and for our grandchildren and their children. People should want it, desire it and demand it. Where there a great demand, it is my feeling that Going Green has a better chance of attracting the attention of the profit-motivated market to adjust itself to take advantage of the demand.

What does it mean to be Green or Sustainable? When I hear or see the words Green or Sustainable, I think of Nature or Planet Earth in its natural state without much of our interference in its affairs. Throughout most of our human history, it has been our own comforts and conveniences that drove much of our profit-motivated industries and markets.

In today’s world, almost anything and everything that a modern man does will contributes to polluting the earth; to be absolute sure that he doesn’t pollute, he might as well do nothing. Of course this would be an impossibility. So what is the next best thing that we can do or don’t do? I leave this question for dear readers to decide for themselves.