Green Buildings
After much speculation, the UK Government has announced plans to cut the Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs) by 50% for new solar installations, as part of their review consultation into the sustainability of the incentive scheme. The cut will see the current feed in tariff of 43.3p/kWh being reduced to 21p/kWh for solar [...]
Dozens of new zero carbon schools look likely to be built in the UK as part of a government drive to cut energy use in the education sector. Ministers say they want to move ahead with recommendations from the Zero Carbon Task Force to open 36 pilot schools across England. [...]
Whether you’re planning a new build, renovation or just redecorating your home, your choice of paint is important both to your family’s health and the environment. Despite the fact that the dangers of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are now well known, most traditional paints are still very bad news. Due [...]
For decades it seems the British were obsessed with new buildings and no mercy was shown to traditional – and often beautiful architecture - which stood in the way. Fortunately, many older buildings are now protected by listed building status and planners finally seem to be coming around to the [...]
In the spring of 2003, the then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, launched a campaign to make London a Fairtrade City. London, England’s capital city, is home to some 7 million people (within the area known as Greater London), and also contains some wonderful architecture, buildings, construction and design of [...]
Concrete in its raw sense could be described as a 'green' material. It is hewn from rock and the earth, ground into a fine powder, mixed with a few other raw components, the most important being water, and then mixed and allowed to set, wherever it is needed. In its [...]
Green architecture is a sustainable method of green building design: it is design and construction with the environment in mind. Green architects generally work with the key concepts of creating an energy efficient, environmentally friendly house. The natural ecology of the planet should be the macro model for architects to [...]
A green architect specializes in designing architecture that is sustainable, non-harmful to the environment, and is built on energy efficient lines, possibly using solar capturing technology and other green methods. For a design to truly become a green building, both the design and then its construction must use the principles [...]
Michael Reynolds is a highly versatile and prolific eco-architect, based In New Mexico, USA. He believes in the sustainable use of materials and the earth’s precious resources, and designs wonderful houses, offices and habitats of all kinds on this abiding principle. Reynolds has received increased worldwide attention due to being [...]
There are several different reasons why people are ‘going green’ when it comes to looking at a buying or building a home which is friendlier to the environment. For many, their overall environmental awareness and belief that they have a moral responsibility to uphold their environmental values in every aspect [...]
Green property audit or put more simply, environmental auditing, is a relatively new service available to individuals in their own home, to assess and advise upon living in a more environmentally friendly way. Environmental auditing is a term that has been in use for a while – Governments and International [...]
The UK Government, through a website of its Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), has recently launched a scheme called the Low Carbon Building's Programme. This is an initiative by the Government in order to meet national and International targets to reduce pollution, with the intention to reduce the effects [...]
Climate change, smog, acid rain and ozone depletion are all created by air pollution, and pose a serious threat to the environment and our health. In the UK, air pollution is responsible for around 32,000 deaths every year, with thousands more requiring hospital treatment. Direct causes of death include asthma, [...]
To construct a building, lay the foundations, build walls, or even doing the weekly shopping, we use resources, be they brick, stone, wood, cardboard or plastic wrapping. Recently a UK Government minister angered the food industry by suggesting that supermarket shoppers could protest the amount of plastic used in food [...]
The UK construction industry is responsible for producing over 36 million tonnes of landfill waste every year. This is approximately 35% of total waste generated, with domestic residential waste accounting for an additional 10%. It has been estimated that UK landfill sites will be filled in as little as 6 [...]
The concept of a green building was developed in the 1970s in response to the energy crisis and people's growing concerns about the environment. The need to save energy and mitigate environmental problems fostered a wave of green building innovation that has continued to this day. Green buildings are not [...]
Eco-housing, or houses built in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, which use resources and technologies that capitalise on renewability, are a fast-developing industry in the UK. These projects range from individual projects to whole estates, designed to accommodate and create a new community. Individual or one-off projects, such [...]
Green specifications are a set of agreements that are recommended for the sustainable building industry. They identify and qualify the specific conditions that property developers, designers and builders must meet to demonstrate sustainable development in practice. Increasing concerns over environmental issues such as climate change and fossil fuel depletion, have [...]
A 'Green Tax' is generally administered as a financial penalty on companies using excessive energy. It also acts as an incentive to reducing fuel emissions and promotes the importance of environmental sustainability by linking profit directly to fuel output. Climate Change Levy Following the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, which [...]
