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struction, management and usage of
tall buildings can contribute to a more
sustainable society as a whole.” Why
the focus on tall buildings? “Densities
allow for faster movement of goods,
people and ideas. Tall buildings could
play a substantial role in this.”
According to Klerks, sustainable
building is an evolutionary process. “It
involves many little insights, inventions,
initiatives and policies that make build-
ings gradually more energy friendly,
more durable, and so on. Solutions
are aimed towards reducing the use of
energy, transportation costs and cre-
ation costs; and increasingly towards
the creation of energy, carbon neutral
development, and the like.”
How do we know when we are mak-
ing progress? Are certification systems
like LEED® (Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design) Green Building
Rating System and BREAAM (Building
Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method) useful tools? “Be-
ing visible objects in dense urban areas,
tall buildings are ideal subjects for LEED
and BREAAM certification, not only
because of the size of development, but
also for being able to become a present
A ZERO NET ENERGY STRATEGY
FOR BUILDINGS COULD NEARLY
HALVE THE EXPECTED GROWTH IN
ELECTRICITY DEMAND WORLDWIDE
0
example of sustainable development.
Especially for companies whose busi-
ness is about intangible services (like fi-
nancials), a sustainable policy is a good
way to express their involvement and
responsibility to the outside world.”
What can we do about the infra-
structure we already have? Is it worth
modernizing our current building
stock? “Given that most buildings have
already been built, retrofitting exist-
ing buildings could have a far bigger
impact than making new developments
sustainable. The retrofitting plans of the
Willis Tower in Chicago and the Empire
State Building in New York are two
instances of this in practice.”
BALANCE AND COMPROMISE
Aiming for energy efficiency and opti-
mal density in building always means
looking at both inputs and outputs.
The design of the structure has to bal-
ance the performance of the building
SUSTAINABLE
URBAN SOLUTIONS
W
hile lowering the eco-
logical footprint of
our existing cities is
a crucial priority that
requires retrofitting solutions on a mas-
sive scale, much can be learned from
the eco-city developments that are
popping up on nearly every continent.
Eco-cities (or suburbs or villages) can
serve as a laboratory for all manner of
sustainable urban solutions, and they
are not plagued by the same challenges
with lock-in that existing cities face. For
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TEXT:
CINDY KOHTALA
PHOTO:
ANTTI KANGASSALO