By combining particular methodologies for the design, construction and maintenance of a building, the definition of green building is reached.
By it we mean the set of methods that reduce the impact of buildings on the environment and increase the level of sustainability. If a building is environmentally friendly, it is in its entire life cycle: from construction to demolition.
“Green building” in its first assertion, could be understood as: “design philosophy aimed at verifying the compatibility of the building with the surrounding environment and with human biology, through an approach particularly aimed at the protection of confined environments”.
The overall situation of our planet, in continuous deterioration, has, however, made decisions that can radically change the relationship between the human species and the biosphere now impossible to postpone.
In fact, the concern for “the pathologies of the home” could not ignore the anguish caused by the evils of our common home: Planet Earth.
Our planet is sick, and its salvation is the challenge that must be faced and won in the 21st century, to defuse a dramatic threat to the future of humanity.
In light of the evolutions described, the now usual definition “Green building” could be conveniently replaced with “Bioecological Architecture”, a term that comes from the conjugation of Architecture (the art of building), Bio (favorable to life), Eco (in balance with environment), Logic (intelligent, rational). The implications connected with the term “Bioecological Architecture” outline a “philosophy of building capable of relating in a balanced way with the environment, of satisfying the needs of current generations without limiting, with pollution and indiscriminate consumption of resources, the needs of future generations”.
Another synonym for “green building” is green architecture. Design therefore plays a very important role in the world of green building, having to provide for the use of renewable sources for heating or cooling the works, as well as in the supply of electricity, finding valid allies in photovoltaic systems as well as in the use of biomass and geothermal systems.
We work together, in cooperation, leveraging both human and material resources: all the professionals included in the project must be experts in their field as regards the quality of the raw materials and the skills involved.
The extensive knowledge of sustainable construction will lead the working group to consider first and foremost the environmental constraints intrinsically established by the place where the construction will come to life, such as the peculiarities of the land, the presence of vegetation, the temperature range, the natural lighting and, more generally, the climate.
The analysis is a prerequisite for choosing the most correct materials to use for the case in question, combining the principles of efficiency with a certain preference for raw materials with low environmental impact.
It will therefore be important to take into account energy consumption and how much it may affect based on the expected needs and potential greenhouse gas emissions: the perfect home, according to the dictates of green building, is the one that guarantees a healthy environment for those who live there internal without compromising the healthiness of the outside world.
The “guiding rules” for building in accordance with the canons of eco-sustainable construction or green building, prepared by organizations and research centers, now numerous and widespread, can be condensed into the following “decalogue”:
- Identify the energy and bioclimatic configuration of the site to define the location of the building, also evaluating the aspects related to geobiology, with electrical, sound and environmental pollution.
- Adopt, where necessary, the measures against negative geobiological issues: groundwater, faults, etc., both in the design process and in the eventual definition of restoration interventions.
- Encourage natural exchanges, avoiding excessively hermetic seals, insufficiently breathable coatings, etc.
- Provide for the earthing of the armatures and systems.
- Check for the presence of radon gas and, if necessary, take appropriate safeguards.
- Use raw materials and products that are harmless, deriving from sources as renewable as possible, with low energy costs, with the utmost attention to energy saving for the entire building.
- In the construction of the reinforcements provide for the use of paramagnetic steels (stainless steel, austenitic) instead of normal ferromagnetic steels, to avoid the creation of shields against beneficial natural radiation (the pulsations of the earth).
- Adopt large windows that, in addition to ensuring the best insolation, allow the permeation of ultraviolet rays.
- Provide shielded electrical systems, equipped with current circuit breaker.
- Adopt radiant heating systems: (on the floor, on the wall, on the ceiling, etc.).
The resources to be preferred in the choice and selection of the products to be used must reflect certain characteristics:
- come from renewable sources;
- reduce the amount of waste;
- they must not be toxic to humans.
There are some materials, so to speak, “ancient”, which have long carried out the tasks required by green building, such as wood, straw, bricks and all products based on natural hydraulic lime.
Nowadays, technology and research allow us to improve performance and reduce the environmental impact with wood or cellulose fibers, or even with wood-cement, without counting the immense contribution offered to the sustainability of the planet from the culture of recycling.