Architects of a greener future
BY TINA CARMILLIA
GREEN architecture and sustainable building are relatively new buzzwords. While it once catered to a niche group, the trend is slowly seeping into the wider market.
In fact, sustainable architecture has always been part of the architecture curriculum at the undergraduate level, but it can be said that it has only recently entered the public consciousness with accreditation bodies and agencies recognising and rating green buildings.
Without a doubt, sustainable buildings are the future and there is a huge need for research and postgraduate work in this sphere for this to gain traction in a bigger way in Malaysia.
“Strictly speaking, green homes in Malaysia need to be evaluated and accredited by the Green Building Index and GreenRE to be formally recognised as a green building,” says Ar Melvyn Kanny, principal architect of MJKanny Architect, who has more than two decades of experience in the construction and property development industry.
Although from the marketing perspective developers use green architecture as a selling point, the process of getting a building assessed and certified consumes time and money.
It may not be worthwhile for private home owners to get their homes certified as a green home even if the design and construction meet the criteria.
Additionally, there is as much incentive by the municipal council or federal government except for rebates on energy-efficient electrical appliances and tax incentives, to name a few.
Maybe that is a good thing because it means that those who insist on green buildings are in fact doing it for the right reasons instead of financial gains.
Undeniably, the most popular misconception is that building a green home is more expensive than the conventional method.
“It is a matter of perspective. Some people will design a home first and then add green elements to it. Of course that means additional costs.
“For me, everything begins from the start by using less material and reusing material that would typically be wasted. That alone can cut the overall cost of the project,” shares Kanny.
Indeed, Kanny adopts a more passive approach unlike other builders who add green technology such as solar panels and wind turbines to their development possibly like an after-thought.
For example, when Kanny built his own home, he used concrete blocks as the external walls of a building.
In addition to the fact that it does not require a paint job, there is also no need for extra labour costs to hack into the walls since plumbing and wiring can run through the hollow spaces within the blocks, thus further lowering the cost.
As a result of this simple way of redefining the way buildings are designed, green buildings typically have a more rustic and raw finish, giving it character.
Innovative architecture
Even in a larger scale, sustainable architecture does not have to be expensive – it only needs to be innovative.
Jaime Lerner, the former mayor of Curitiba and former governor of the state of Parana in Brazil, is also a renowned architect and urban planner. During his mayorship, he provided unorthodox solutions to Curitiba based on its own unique geography, being bordered by a floodplain.
Unlike other wealthier cities, Curitiba is constrained by finances, so instead of building an expensive floodplain system, Curitiba uses municipal sheep to keep the parks vegetation under control, with the wool from the sheep funding children’s programmes in the city.
As a result of this innovative approach, the city ranks as among the top cities in per-capita park area.
Lerner says of this feat: “Every city in the world can be improved in less than three years. It’s not a question of scale; it’s not a question of financial resources. Every problem in a city has to have its own equation of co-responsibility and design”.
Another notable Brazilian landscape architect is the late Roberto Burle Marx whose designs of parks and gardens made him well-known as a modernist nature artist and public urban space designer.
His work has inspired and influenced many tropical garden designs in the 20th century.
One of his last works was the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Park that adorns the Petronas Twin Towers with greenery.
“The park is one of the best examples in the country to showcase an excellent use of public open spaces. It integrates tropical greenery with man-made structures.
“The park features a combination of plants and sculptures to provide colour and form,” says Kanny.
The park creates a mini ecosystem at the heart of the city, where the temperature is cooler and biodiversity greater than its surrounding vicinity.
The 20ha park has 66 species of palms and 1,900 indigenous trees, some of which are rare species selected to attract local and migratory birds.
Sustainable building and green architecture are becoming the new ideological medium for public and living spaces, especially in urban areas.
While some are motivated to reduce tangible impacts on carbon footprints and global warming, others are just warming up to the idea of sleek design images that results from using less material and using spaces more effectively.
The future is green
“Judging from the amount of projects, green architecture is certainly an upcoming trend in the building industry.
“This is due to a few factors such as increasing cost of energy and water due to subsequent removal of subsidies, the branding of multinational companies from the aspect of corporate social responsibility, and the various incentives, legislative and policy frameworks that make such movement feasible,” says Lim Gene Harn, green building consultant at IEN Consultants.
Any future architects, engineers or designers are the future shapers of our built environment.
It takes experience and insight to know the relationship between the built environment and the livelihood of the community, the social integration of various citizens, the well-being of natural environment and also economic justice to all layers of society.
“We do not need to reinvent the wheel as the solutions are displayed around the world. Thus, I believe any professional should travel sufficiently with a mind of curiosity to get experience from abroad, which can be the solution for our built environment,” advises Lim to future architects and designers.
According to Lim, the academic field may not be providing enough to produce the talent pipeline for this trend.
“I think most local universities do not have specialised programmes such as building science, energy engineering and building energy models. Young graduates from the conventional studies in this field will struggle as their skill sets are not updated to the industry’s demand,” he explains.
He adds that another challenge is the mentality barrier where most young professional have the mindset that they have to work in a particular field based on their their educated skill sets.
“A fresh graduate in architecture is not limited to a career within architecture firms, but is free to explore career options of the building industry such as contractor, developer, landscape designer or interior designer to see the industry as a whole by unlearning and relearning,” he says.
Is a postgraduate degree necessary to fill in the gaps? Lim believes it is relevant because postgraduate education enriches an individual’s experience in a niche subject.
“However, I firmly believe one should have a working experience of a year or two to get a view of the industry and discover what he really likes to focus on from there.
“It is not advisable for one to jump into postgraduate education just for the sake of doing so or expect a higher salary from it because often the quality of a person’s postgraduate experience depends on his passion and determination towards a subject,” says Lim, who is currently undertaking a Master in Science programme in Architecture (Sustainable Design) in University Malaya.
Kanny also points out that young professionals in this field tend to switch too fast between jobs and firms, leaving for a new opportunity every two or three years.
“The average project takes three to four years to complete. So, those who jump from one job to another will never get to see the completion of a project from start to finish.
“How then will they be fully versed in the architecture process? They will never be ready to start their own practice,” he cautions.