SUSTAINABLE

In ecology, sustainability is the capacity to endure; it is how biological

systems remain diverse and productive indefinitely. Long-lived and
healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. In more
general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. The organizing
principle for sustainability is sustainable, which includes the four interconnected domains:
ecology, economics, politics and culture. Sustainability science is the study of sustainable
development and environmental science.

Healthy ecosystems and environments are necessary to the survival of humans and
other organisms. Ways of reducing negative human impact are environmentally-friendly
chemical engineering, environmental resources management and environmental
protection. Information is gained from green chemistry, earth science, and science
and conservation biology. Ecological economics studies the fields of academic research that
aim to address human economies and natural ecosystems.

Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails international and
national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical
consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from reorganizing living
conditions (e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising
economic sectors (permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices
(sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green
technologies, renewable energy and sustainable fission and fusion power), or designing
systems in a flexible and reversible manner, and adjusting individual lifestyles that conserve
natural resources.

PRICIPLES AND CONCEPT

The philosophical and analytic framework of sustainability draws on and connects with
many different disciplines and fields; in recent years an area that has come to be
called sustainability science has emerged.
The United Nations Millennium Declaration identified principles and treaties on sustainable
development, including economic development, social development and environmental
protection. The Circles of Sustainability approach distinguishes the four domains of
economic, ecological, political and cultural sustainability. This in accord with the United
Nations Agenda 21, which specifies culture as the fourth domain of sustainable
development.
GREEN ARCHITECTURE

Is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by

efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space.
Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in
the design of the built environment.
The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions
today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.

SYSTEM EFFICIENCY

Numerous passive architectural strategies have been developed over time. Examples of
such strategies include the arrangement of rooms or the sizing and orientation of windows
in a building, and the orientation of facades and streets or the ratio between building
heights and street widths for urban planning.
An important and cost-effective element of an efficient heating, ventilating, and air
conditioning (HVAC) system is a well-insulated building. A more efficient building requires
less heat generating or dissipating power, but may require more ventilation capacity to
expel polluted indoor air.
Significant amounts of energy are flushed out of buildings in the water, air
and compost streams. Off the shelf, on-site energy recycling technologies can effectively
recapture energy from waste hot water and stale air and transfer that energy into incoming
fresh cold water or fresh air. Recapture of energy for uses other than gardening from
compost leaving buildings requires centralized anaerobic digesters.

RENEWABLE ENERGY
Active solar devices such as photovoltaic solar panels help to provide sustainable electricity
for any use. Electrical output of a solar panel is dependent on orientation, efficiency,
latitude, and climatesolar gain varies even at the same latitude. Typical efficiencies for
commercially available PV panels range from 4% to 28%. The low efficiency of certain
photovoltaic panels can significantly affect the payback period of their installation.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Vernacular architecture is a category of architecture based on local needs, construction

materials and reflecting local traditions. At least originally, vernacular architecture did not
use formally-schooled architects, but relied on the design skills and tradition of local
builders. However, since the late 19th century many professional architects have worked in
versions of the style.
It tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural, technological, economic,
and historical context in which it exists. While often difficult to reconcile with
regulatory and popular demands of the five factors mentioned, this kind of architecture still
plays a role in architecture and design, especially in local branches.
Vernacular architecture can be contrasted against polite architecture which is characterized
by stylistic elements of design intentionally incorporated for aesthetic purposes which go
beyond a building's functional requirements. This article also covers, where somewhere
between the two extremes yet based upon authentic themes the term traditional
architecture.

VERNACULAR AND THE ARCHITECT

Architecture designed by professional architects is usually not considered to be vernacular.

Indeed, it can be argued that the very process of consciously designing a building makes it
not vernacular. Paul Oliver, in his book Dwellings, states: "...it is contended that 'popular
architecture' designed by professional architects or commercial builders for popular use,
does not come within the compass of the vernacular". Oliver also offers the following
simple definition of vernacular architecture: "the architecture of the people, and by the
people, but not for the people.
Frank Lloyd Wright described vernacular architecture as "Folk building growing in response
to actual needs, fitted into environment by people who knew no better than to fit them
with native feeling". Suggesting that it is a primitive form of design, lacking intelligent
thought, but he also stated that it was "for us better worth study than all the highly self-
conscious academic attempts at the beautiful throughout Europe".
Since at least the Arts and Crafts Movement, many modern architects have studied
vernacular buildings and claimed to draw inspiration from them, including aspects of the
vernacular in their designs. In 1946, the Egyptian architect Hassan Fathy was appointed to
design the town of New Gourna near Luxor. Having studied traditional Nubian settlements
and technologies, he incorporated the traditional mud brick vaults of the Nubian
settlements in his designs.