Comparing Sustainable Design Across the World
(Journal of Archectural Engineering, 2006)
An article by Brunz et al. (2006), published in The Journal of Architectural Engineering thoroughly investigates every aspect of sustainable building, comparing these considerations across the world in multiple countries. Sustainable design practices can be integrated into very aspect of the building process including programming design, construction, functional operation, and even demolition (Brunz et al., 2006).
This article specifically focuses on areas within North America, Europe and Asia, comparing sustainable programs and organization utilized by these three regions and highlighting requirements and concerns applicable in each. Brunz et al. (2006) attempt to conduct a global investigation of sustainable building guidelines, commenting, “the similarities between different programs and regions can be taken into consideration during the planning of sustainable design work, regardless of the region of construction.”
Brunz et al. (2006) attempt to effectively provide building professionals with comprehensive international sustainable design guidelines. The article showcases well organized tables, which indicate the similarities and differences between various parts of North America, Europe and Asia, concluding what practices are universally encouraged and which are currently incorporated on only certain regions of the world.
My thoughts:
I found this article to be extremely comprehensive yet slightly overwhelming to understand with my limited knowledge in the world of sustainable design practices. I found it fascinating to identify organizations and restrictions that are foreign to me and was prompted to further research these specific regions in order to better understand the content of this article.
I thought the intent of this article was very valuable to me in understanding the concept behind sustainable construction, and was surprised how different each region’s organizations and regulations were when they all shared a common goal—reducing the negative impact of design and construction.
References
Brunz, K., Henze, G., P.E., & Tiller, D. (2006). Survey of sustainable building design practices in North American, Europe and Asia. Journal of Architectural Engineering, 12(1), 33-62.