As you look around neighborhoods, towns, and cities, you notice a trend on the horizon: green architecture and buildings. What exactly is green architecture, and where did it come from? Let’s look at the brief history of contemporary green architecture by examining its budding past, the current relevancy of today, and what to expect in the future. Before you know it, you’ll want to be part of the movement and go green in your life!
The Extensive Past
Green architecture came to be back in the 1960s when economic awareness arose. Rebellious youth came to question the homogenous suburbs. As urban sprawl took place, they lived in tent structures and geodesic domes to make minimal impact on the land. Before this, architect Frank Llyod Wright expressed his interest in working with nature, believing that buildings should exist from natural areas instead of bulldozing and eliminating the surroundings.
The outcry of Americans expressing their concerns over environmental conservation led to the formation of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED for short, in 1994. It provides certifications for independent, third-party verification that homes, buildings, and communities can have homes designed through strategies aimed at human and environmental health, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection, and indoor environmental quality.
The Present Impact
With the early history of contemporary green architecture, it has extended its influence throughout the world to create better-sustaining buildings. In 1992, former president Bill Clinton announced a plan to make the White House an efficiency and waste reductions model. The “Greening of the White House” program improved energy efficiency and environmental performance, reduced waste, lowered energy use, and incorporated renewable resources. Materials such as solar mesh help reduce power costs while increasing comfort in every home and building.
Green building is one of the fastest-growing buildings and market designs in the architectural world. Architects, designers, and homeowners notice cost-saving possibilities, energy-saving emphasis, modern aesthetics, and the growing relationship with nature. The United States Green Building Council, known as the USGBC, is a leading educator of world green building in modern times.
The Promising Future
The goal for green building is to lead it seamlessly into the future, creating effortless adaptions for planned architecture. There’s heavy interest in grazing pastures on top of skyscrapers, underwater cities, 3D-printed homes, stackable pod homes that rely on solar and tidal energy, and buildings having their microclimates. Because of concerns about overpopulation, global warming, and rising sea levels, future architecture often reflects today’s problems.