Construction Magazine Article April 2009

BICHARDHAWKES

is a fad dret, lf greenwash eode let'shcpefor a healthrer To lose weight one must eat less and exercisemore lt's the same with becoming more sustainable we must use less and recyclemore. So we have to wean ourselveson to a healthier dret, maybe switching from chocolatebars to digestivebiscuits on the way to a seasonalfruit salad BLr wner we rry o d-Lv-r .nuronmenlallyl^eJr'v projects what worries me is the spin, greenwashand fad diets at every corner There'sa classicexample of greenwash on every garage forccourt: petrol pumps stancl p l o u d lyin ne' r g Fcnlre vsal|n o en^r gN ds s oc iat "s ' l rng the colouJand the word is a step in the right direction. llavlng lecen v 1 oved rrro oJr naw'passive"ouse (seeCM March, page 29) I attendedtlns year's Ecobuild event with a heightened awareness of the need for healthy .a ing Waldmg ound n se. . h ofheal h/ ingt^dierts,it was great to see the advancementin altemative buldrng methods:there were timberiamed houses,renewable technologiesand energy saving procluctsgalore. But I was st l aiarmed at the nunlcer of exhibrtors that had shpped through the eco fiiter. One thing that makes me _vppsof 'dugn .c \,\nFn ou 'ldve con pdixes \ "plli o n.w concrete shuttedng. Yes,it s no doubt innovative and quicker but what is it doing at Ecobuild? You're still using concrete, when most buildings aren't designed to justtfy its embodied energy. Then there's the 'sustarnable technolc gies' that are sold citmg unealstic performancedata grouno soulce heot prJTrpsdje a parricua|ulptrl Somehow I got the feelng that many compa es were simply supplying chocolate uaIs m green orgalllc wrappers. Taking a break, and quretly eating an apple (and a chocolatebiscrlit, I must conJess)I hstenedto Paul King chief executiveof the UK GreenBuilding Council,as he presentedhis organrsatlon'sproposalfor a Code for Sustarnable Burldrngs. This new loose'fitframework would acconimodateexsting methods of measui

tials, such as BRXEAM, and wauld cover all nondomestic THE buildings. It would require allbuildings, new and old, to PNAPASED undergo a regrlar health check, with public drsclosue of caloie intake. Naming and shaming that sounds good. CODEIS The proposal undoubtedly leads us in the dght MORE direction,but I cant help but thinh it's more drgestrve conuction. The balanced DIGESTIVE biscuit than frut saladinto itsdigest. As I see il, any sustain diet seems too drfficult BISCUITTHAN dblc b.Lldmg. .ode n.cds ro focus o_ chdnoincr'hF FBUITSALAD h a b . r s o f l n e u s e rd 'l d h e e s d d d n g - L i a a l o p do h m code wrll only addressproperty and design professionals /iV/IS without engaging the occupiers.If we don't look at CONVICTIONunsustainable hrunan beha!'1our,we wili do little to improve overall sustarnabiLity no matter how restrictive

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If we are to have a new Code for SustamableBu dmgs, I hope that it will iron out some of the bizarreinequalities we faced in assessingoui ecchouse agarnstthe Code for S isldinan," Homes RFcFlvingro c edr b usu q snall local craJtsand materials due to lack of ISO or FSCaccredr'olron\,\as oal . Lika,visethetewas ro te' ogn tor lor treating all our waste water on site, and the fact that we got no credit for a vegetablegarden and compost system unless I formed a nice flat path to from the back door lor edsywl-..l.har a..oss rourof col c ere.oerl'"psl) Ls about topped it off. If supporting sustainableproduce isnt encouragedby the code,what on Earth, or beyond,is? Codesshould act as gLridesto elicit change This is wnd- rhe Bu d rg Fec|Lldrons do lalb.:l bv ladu, Ing the fat content of a Mars bar rather than promoting apples). But the astoundingly complex measurements ar1dcalculations required by the Code for SustainableHomes leaves me ttrnking something has got lost in translation.Recent changes now mean that a house with a swinlming pool .dl 1 Sl .l 06 aSS6SSed ds ^O O e 4 Ot 5. N O' Vety gto.n.

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thinking? That ll be the cf odne The problem with the Code for SustainableHomes is that its hjgNy prescriptive.We need a code that's more like the Building Regrulations- as long as you design in the there s room to skin the cat in spirit of the regrulations, more than one way. So I hope that a Code for Sustarnable Bulldrngs will be bod m s."dors"!par-o ,lns. rn rs ludg.mFnl -t -'rus 'F :^

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beautiful. We all know that fresh and local is not so much a fringe activity, but an essential ingredient in cooking a healthy meal Bichard Hawkes runs Hawkes Architecture

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