Going green

1 April 2010

Although the global financial disorder has had the effect of slightly lowering the number of projects for architects, it has at the same time advanced the promotion of green buildings.

Many design models for homes and buildings that include various principles of green architecture, such as energy efficiency, using green materials and putting up green building systems, have been introduced. The main objective of green architecture is to decrease the operating costs of buildings while minimising their negative effects on the environment. Incidentally, green buildings also support a healthier lifestyle for their occupants.

Green buildings

1 April 2010

As the world has grown more aware and concerned with environmental issues, the need to find ways to help our environment has become a global issue. And as technology has evolved, so have our resources, which means that homes built today tend to be twice as energy efficient as houses built 30 years ago. This is thanks to the development of “green building”.

Green

31 March 2010

Green is a perception. It is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by a light spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520 to 570 nanometres. It is also a word that has been adopted by the “green” (environmental) movement, probably because in folklore and literature green has been used to symbolise nature and its embodied attributes, namely life, fertility and rebirth. The colour green was symbolic of resurrection and immortality in Ancient Egypt; the god Osiris was depicted as green skinned. Today the word is used to describe technologies and lifestyles that support a cleaner planet, cleaner atmosphere and a world where, instead of slowly depleting Earth of its natural resources, we use the abundant energy of the sun that falls on our planet.

Save electricity

31 March 2010

Saving electricity doesn’t always take days of planning; there are many things you can do right now to save electricity and start cutting costs.

If your home has climate control with an automatic thermostat, set it so that it is comfortably warm in winter and comfortably cool in summer.

Energy saving homes

31 March 2010

Innovative solutions for energy saving homes

While global warming is not something we necessarily notice in our day-to-day routines, it is certainly something that we should pay attention to if we want to save our world. This means living more responsibly and making an effort to reduce our carbon footprint.