The impact of global warming has been felt, and everyone is worried about the future of the world. In the building and construction industry, there have been concerns on Sustainable housing and building to comply with the need to protect the environment and thus minimize the effect of climate change all over the world. Environmental damage caused by the emission of greenhouse gases and physical destruction of forests for the need of building materials is what has lead to the idea of sustainable housing and buildings (Zlata and Mikhailovna 12). The agenda of this idea was to minimize the greenhouse emission, conserve the environment and reduce the global warming. Sustainable housing and building refer to the application of processes in the construction of houses and buildings using environmentally friendly practices and materials that also resource efficient in the life cycle of such houses.
Thesis: sustainability in housing and building can be achieved through the use of bio-degradable building materials, use of renewable energy such as wind and solar and green architecture.
1. Bio-degradable building materials
Usually, people use materials in making houses that at times have a negative impact on the environment especially when such house is brought down. Biodegradable materials are those that eco-friendly and do not leave a heap of wastes and chemicals that contaminate the soil later on. They degrade naturally with no negative effect on the soil condition (Roufechaei, Abu Bakar, and Tabassi 380). These materials can even be recycled. Also, they break down easily and does not leave any toxins into the environment. To construct sustainable houses and buildings, such kind of materials should be considered and given more priority over the other ones.
Benefits
Various benefits come with the use of biodegradable materials to the construction of houses. First, they readily available and does not require complex processes in their production as they can be recycled(Zlata and Mikhailovna 13). Secondly, they are affordable compared to the other materials. They are efficient and require less capital when compared to other building material such as concrete.
Impact on environment
i. The biodegradable materials do not leave any toxin in the soil and break down easily. This helps reduce the possibility of environment destruction that makes the soil infertile and thus cannot support the lives trees and forest (Vučićević et al 51).
ii. Biodegradable materials also reduce waste in the environment because they break down easily(Zlata and Mikhailovna 14).
iii. This kind of building materials reduces the carbon emission to the environment that comes as a result of the production of other building materials such as cement.
Use in the construction industry
Biodegradable materials can be used in place of other building materials that cause much damage to the environment such as cement. Construction industry usually has companies that contribute to carbon emission to the environment. Cement production is one of the industries that release more carbon to the environment (Wang, Toppinen, and Heikki 350). Application of biodegradable materials in construction would result in a sustainable housing and building and thus eco-friendly houses and buildings.
Use of recyclable materials developed from wastes in construction.
Use of concrete like materials that are created from fibers of hemp plants also rammed earth can be used instead of concrete in cement.
Straw bales are another biodegradable material that can be used in making the walls of sustainable houses and buildings (Wang, Toppinen, and Heikki 350). They can replace other materials like wood, concrete, and plasters.
2. Renewable energy
Renewable energy is sourced from natural sources such as wind, sunlight, air geothermal heat among others. Renewable energy can be used as an alternative means of heating water, cooling the house, providing lights among others (Wang, Toppinen, and Heikki 350).
Benefits
Renewable energy is cheap as they are found from natural sources. They improve public health as the air and water from coal usually result in respiratory problems, cancer, and even heart attack(Wang, Toppinen, and Heikki 353).
Renewable energy can also not be exhausted as they are from natural sources.
The process of tapping renewable energy is more labor intensive hence provides job and another economic benefit to the populace(Zlata and Mikhailovna 12).
Impact on environment
The production process of renewable energy does not result in the emission of carbon to the environment and thus reduces the effect of global warming and climate change. It also leads to the reduction of local as well as regional air pollution(Vučićević et al 51).
Renewable energy also is reduced amount of water needed for the production of electricity hence reducing the possibility of water becoming scarce to the general population(Vučićević et al 52).
Use in the housing and building industry
A solar panel that gets its energy directly from the sun can be used in houses for lighting, heating, and cooling of items among others.
Biomass can be used to replace electricity hence reducing the use of water sources in the generation of electricity(Vučićević et al 53). The sources of biomass include animal’s wastes, forest wastes, and others.
In sustainable housing and buildings, these sources of energy can be used to replace the ones whose production would result in negative environmental impact such as emission of carbon gases that enhances climate change.
3. Green architecture
Green architecture is the techniques involved in the construction of houses that minimizes the negative impact on the environment by the moderation of the materials(Roufechaei, Abu Bakar, and Tabassi 380). The houses are designed to reduce their energy need as well as make the whole building process more efficient.
Benefits
Green architecture reduces the amount of energy the house might need and thus help in saving energy costs. There is also moderation in the use of materials and even space thus minimizes the cost of construction(Roufechaei, Abu Bakar, and Tabassi 381). When the cost of production is reduced by minimizing the number of materials and even energy needed in houses, the little resources available can be used for many houses and thus reduces the damage that could have been caused by a search of materials and energy for the houses. This brings sustainability.
Impact on environment
The use of large windows to tap more natural light from the sun has reduced the amount of energy needed to provide lights in such buildings. This has a huge impact on the environment in that the scarce energy available can be used by many houses and in the end, reduces the destruction of the environment in the process of producing a large amount of energy needed for buildings(Roufechaei, Abu Bakar, and Tabassi 382).
The use of sustainably sourced building materials in green architecture also helps preserve the environment and forest. Moreover, the green construction maintains the ecosystem and thus assists to keep more trees and forests alive by replacing wood with other materials hence facilitates filtering of air.
Use in sustainable housing and building
Use of natural materials only help reduce the production of the other building materials and thus protects the environment
Use of sustainable lighting also reduces the amount o energy that could have been used if modern building materials could have been applied in construction (Roufechaei, Abu Bakar, and Tabassi 383).
Use of green roof also help in maintain ecosystem hence ensures clean environment as the air would be filtered by these green rooftops that usually have a garden on them.
Conclusion
Sustainability in housing and building construction is the only way the environment can be protected from further damage. The modern building materials have resulted in the destruction of the forest as well as emission of carbon gases into the environment hence facilitating climate change impact. Use of biodegradable materials is some of the steps taken towards sustainable housing and buildings. The change in the construction industry from the modern ways to the natural methods aided by green architecture will ensure the environment is protected from more damages. This is because the construction industry has some of the companies that emit carbon to the air as well as the use of forest wood for construction, which has for a long time destroyed the ecosystem. Sustainable housing and building will reduce the destruction with a larger percentage because of the moderate use of materials, use of natural sources of energy, all of which reduces the overall impact on the environment. As provided above, many techniques have been applied to enhance green architecture and in turn, assist in the preservation of the environment. The information for green architecture can be spread through benchmarking where new architects are taken through samples of the construction of buildings using green architecture techniques so that they can apply the same in future buildings.
Work Cited
Anatolyevna, GAEVSKAYA Zlata, and RAKOVA Xeniya Mikhailovna. "Modern building materials and the concept of" sustainability project"." Advanced Materials Research 941 (2014).
Roufechaei, Kamand M., Abu Hassan Abu Bakar, and Amin Akhavan Tabassi. "Energy-efficient design for sustainable housing development." Journal of cleaner production 65 (2014): 380-388.
Vučićević, Biljana, et al. "Assessing the sustainability of the energy use of residential buildings in Belgrade through multi-criteria analysis." Energy and buildings 69 (2014): 51-61.
Wang, Lei, Anne Toppinen, and Heikki Juslin. "Use of wood in green building: a study of expert perspectives from the UK." Journal of cleaner production 65 (2014): 350-361.
