Architecture Commons^™

Energy In The Ecopolis, Sara Bronin

Sara C. Bronin

Climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental degradation demand a paradigm shift in urban development. Currently, too many of our cities exacerbate these problems: they pollute, consume, and process resources in ways that negatively impact our natural world. Cities of the future must make nature their model, instituting circular metabolic processes that mimic, embrace, and enhance nature. In other words, a city must be a regenerative city or, as some say, an “ecopolis.” So, how to get there—to ecopolis—from here? In this Comment, I propose a partial answer by focusing on certain legal frameworks that must be reenvisioned to enable the …

Sustainable Campus: Engaging The Community In Sustainability, Linda Too, Bhishna Bajracharya

Linda Too

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the major factors necessary for engaging university campus community in sustainability. While general awareness in sustainability issues has improved in recent years through mass media coverage, this knowledge is not always translated into actual sustainable practice. Studies have indicated that there are many factors for engaging the community in sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach – A multi-disciplinary literature review is first undertaken to distil the drivers that enhance participation in sustainability programmes by the university community. Next, to illustrate the applicability of the factors identified in the community engagement framework, two case studies …

Measuring Good Architecture: Long Life, Loose Fit, Low Energy, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Good architecture is something that we all seek, but which is difficult to define. Sir Alexander John Gordon, in his role as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, defined ‘good architecture’ in 1972 as buildings that exhibit ‘long life, loose fit and low energy’. These characteristics, nicknamed by Gordon as the 3L Principle, are measurable. Furthermore, life cycle cost (LCC) provides a method for accessing the economic contribution or burden created by buildings to the society they aim to serve. Yet there is no research available to investigate the connection, if any, between 3L and LCC. It might …

Sustainable Campus: Engaging The Community In Sustainability, Linda Too, Bhishna Bajracharya

Bhishna Bajracharya

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the major factors necessary for engaging university campus community in sustainability. While general awareness in sustainability issues has improved in recent years through mass media coverage, this knowledge is not always translated into actual sustainable practice. Studies have indicated that there are many factors for engaging the community in sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach – A multi-disciplinary literature review is first undertaken to distil the drivers that enhance participation in sustainability programmes by the university community. Next, to illustrate the applicability of the factors identified in the community engagement framework, two case studies …