dendrite studios

What do I need to support me in order to become a more sustainable built environment professional? This is the question that opened the fourth session of Dendrite’s ‘Building well’ seminar series. All participants partnered up with one other person and got 3 minutes to share their ideas while the other person listened before the roles were reversed. The goal of this exercise, besides the answers, was to teach people a valuable skill and that is to listen without judging or without preparing a response. Some of the participants shared their thoughts with everyone and these included:

• Personal commitment and belief
• A green audit process for materials that incorporates life cycle analysis, embodied energy etc.
• A way of quickly transferring knowledge in the field
• More rapid changes in enabling legislation so that it doesn’t fall behind design trends
• 100% funding from Eskom for energy efficiency measures
• The development of technical skills

Andy Horn was the evening’s first guest speaker. Andy is the principal architect at Eco Design Architects in Cape Town. He is widely regarded as one of the leading experts in ‘green design’ in South Africa, and his Manifesto for Green Architecture  is a widely recognised publication. In 2006 he was honoured as one of 15 finalists in the Global Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction.

In his presentation Andy focussed on the 6 broad principles for a greener approach to architecture.

The first one is socio economic with the goal of promoting social, economic & cultural upliftment. Some of the ways to achieve this is to engage the community through consultative processes and thus building consent. A second way is by respecting and promoting a sense of place. A third way is by creating local job opportunities and a final way is by engaging in capacity building of local communities.

The second broad principle deals with land-use that must be respectful and in symbioses with the local environment and its resources. A prime example of where this has been done on an urban planning scale is the town of Genadendal. On an individual house level this could relate to the effective use of vegetation in and around the house and even with something like planted roofs. This principle can be further adhered to by using natural building materials from the local environment. This can include stone, cob, adobe brick and straw-bale construction. Several of South Africa’ oldest heritage buildings were built with natural building materials and their preservation is testimony to the strength, durability and effectiveness of natural building materials. Unfortunately today, the NHBRC does not want to accept these methods despite a multitude of successful projects over the last several years. No NHBRC approval means that banks won’t finance these types of construction methods which obviously greatly impede its mainstream adoption.

The third principle for green architecture deals with water and the protection, conservation, efficiency and re-use thereof. A big problem is the contamination and pollution of water sources. From the building industry the biggest contributors are adhesives and glues, paints and paintstrippers, asbestos, PVC pipes and sealants containing volatile organic compounds (VOC’s). In terms of water conservation a prime strategy is rainwater harvesting through tanks, mulch pits and diversion ditches. Another method for saving water is using an anaerobic methane digester. These are very common in China, India and some places in Europe and has successfully and cost effectively been implement on several projects in South Africa. Despite the water saving benefit, these devices produce methane gas and/or fertilizer that can be used again.

The fourth principle is the conservation, efficiency and renewable use of energy. Several basic design principles regarding orientation, passive design and proper insulation can already go far on a household level. As far as renewable energy is concerned, the use of solar geysers is the most common interventions, but photo voltaic panels and wind turbines are becoming more affordable and user friendly.

The fifth principle is health and specifically non-polluting environments and healthy materials. Besides general pollution and waste a big problem is the use of toxic materials in the construction process. There are however almost always very good substitute not-toxic materials available. A prime example is the use of non-toxic boron in treating timber poles and clay and lime finishes as plaster. In terms of commercial products such as paints, sealants and adhesives, one should look-out for products that are formaldehyde free and contains little or no VOCs.

The last principle for a greener approach to architecture is holism. The principle of holism looks at things in the context of the whole, seeking to understand the interconnections between the various parts that make up the whole. It is an over-reaching principle and in this context specifically looks at how things are intrinsically recyclable. Some of the strategies include waste recycling, retrofitting and re-use of existing structures and making use of ‘rubble’ for example in rubble trench foundations. Implicit to holism is a life cycle approach to design and viewing everything relative to its specific context.

Andy’s presentation was followed by Anna Cowen and Vernon Collis. Anna is an architect and Vernon an engineer and in their association they operate as a multi-disciplinary sustainable development consultancy. One of the core tenets of their work and something they made specific mention of in their presentation is their use of a variety of specialists in their project teams. These include different engineers, chemists, geologists, ecologists, horticulturist and permaculture practitioners. Some less traditional disciplines that they also co-opt are anthropologists, theatre practitioners and organisational change consultants. These multi-disciplinary teams have enabled Anna and Vernon to offer very innovative approaches and solutions to building challenges. Given the complexity of much of the challenges as elucidated in this series, the value of this approach on most projects becomes clear.

Anna and Vernon structured the first part of their presentation by introducing a framework for sustainability called The Natural Step that they use as lens through which they view all projects. The first sustainable principle according to this approach is to eliminate our contribution to systematic increases in concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust. This refers specifically to mining and the use of fossil fuels. In this context one can view the embodied energy of materials as indicative of the stress they exert on the natural system. As far as traditional building materials are concerned, aluminium has the highest embodied energy followed by copper, glass and reinforcement steel. On the lower end of the scale are bricks, timber and concrete.

The second sustainability principle is eliminating our contribution to systematic increases of substances produced by society. Most prevalent in the current climate is anthropogenic greenhouse gasses, but also other forms of pollution and toxic contamination.

Sustainability principle 3 is to eliminate our contribution to systematic physical degradation of nature through over harvesting, introduction and other forms of modification. Deforestation and depletion of the fish stock are examples of over harvesting and the introduction of alien species an example of introduction. Vernon recalled how on a visit to Thailand he went to the forests were Meranti grows – they are the natural habitat for Orangutans. Timber harvested from these forests were shipped out of the country to another port where they would be stamped FSC to indicate they come from sustainable sources.

The fourth Natural Step Sustainability principle is to eliminate our contribution to the systematic undermining of people’s ability to meet their needs. In this context a series of 9 fundamental human needs have been identified by Chilean economist Manfred Max-Neef. They are:

1. subsistence;
2. protection;
3. affection;
4. understanding;
5. participation;
6. recreation;
7. creation;
8. identity; and
9. freedom.

In trying to fulfil these needs there is a trap as many people try to satisfy one need but in fact impairs several others. Anna mentioned the example of the typical large, free-standing, suburban home. While it satisfies the need for identity, it impairs the needs for freedom, protection and subsistence.

In the remainder of their presentation, Anna and Vernon explained how they incorporate The Natural Step principles, a multi-disciplinary approach and Otto Scharmer’s U-process into their project execution. They did this by focussing on 6 diverse projects that they have been involved in. In all their projects one of the first steps they take is to do a mapping of the conventional and unconventional building materials in the region as well as a mapping of what enters and what leaves a site. This way they can see what materials to use in order to minimise ecological impact and they can see how they can have a positive effect on the area.

The first project showed was a sustainable subsidised housing scheme in Mbekweni outside Paarl. Here they made significant use of local material such as stones, timber, slate etc. They also designed the houses as double storey. By using an anthropologist they picked up the community’s reluctance for this as they believe spirits stay under the stairs. There were also concerns about getting large furniture on the top floor. By being aware of these concerns from the beginning they could respond to in the design process.

Another interesting project was an upmarket residential project in Devils’ Peak, Cape Town. The clients wanted two separate dwelling on the double erf and although there was an existing house it was structurally unsound and couldn’t be used. The old house was thus demolished – but carefully so that much of the materials could be reused. From bricks to sand to timber floors to slate was all reused. In fact, they did not allow any rubble removal trucks on site. The end result was not just a beautiful urban house, but a considerable cost saving.

Since traditional building contracts and remuneration schemes are not conducive for this ‘fresh’ approach Anna and Vernon designed their own contracts and work in close partnership with all the contractors and the client. The builder for example, is incentivised to use ‘rubble’ from the site and more labour by receiving a percentage of the overall cost saving on material.

At the Tsoga Environmental Centre project they used a rubble trench foundation using local waste material and monitored the amount of heavy vehicle kilometres and diesel consumed through this approach as opposed to going for a traditional concrete slab. The saving was over 90%.

A final project highlighted was a rural financial service centre and community meeting place in Centani, Eastern Cape. The client was Old Mutual Group and Wiphold. Instead of building a brand new building, they converted a burnt-out old Magistrates office and used timber, clay, latte and local labour for the project. In the process a huge amount of skills got transferred to the local community and the community immediately had a very strong connection with the building. As a final part of the project, the local community was taught about permaculture and this was integrated into the planning and design of the project.

By looking at Andy, Anna and Vernon’s work one can only agree with the statement that by taking a different, holistic approach you will stand amazed by the abundance and possibility of nature rather than the constraints and limits it imposes.

Some of the questions that got raised during Q & A:

Q: How do you see what you do become mainstream?
AH: It is mainstream in Europe and several other places, we are just a little behind. But, it is picking up speed.

Q: How do you apply natural building processes in larger scale / commercial projects?
VC: Every project is unique and you can’t get away with using only natural processes in large buildings (that is if you have to build them in the first place). The idea is also not to move away completely from mining etc. but to use less of it. You can however use the same principles and think creatively about every step of the way.
AH: Several of the oldest and largest buildings in the world were built with natural material so there is no reason why it can’t be done if you approach it in the right way.

Q: How do you cost these types of projects and how does your fees work?
VC: We don’t work for nothing – we are professionals and we want to get paid. We just reworked the entire costing process and look at it from the point of view of value rather than cost. When we explain to clients what we want to do and they understand it, they are happy. We often start out with what the cost would have been if you used only new materials and then divide the savings by using alternative material between the various parties. Often the overall project comes out cheaper, despite higher design and professional costs.

To conclude the session, another question was posed to the participants:
How can we as built environment professionals support each other to become a globally acclaimed, cutting edge sustainable professional community?

Some of the responses were:
Have NGO’s such as SACAP and SA Green Building Council help us
Recognising diversity of skills – rather than focusing on specific skills such as architecture
Change clients / developers’ mindsets by addressing real aspirations
Have more meetings like these to share best practices
Create a forum similar to Cape Town’s New Mobility Alliance