Anaerobic Energy System Tests

Anaerobic Energy System Tests

Anaerobic Energy System Tests

Many organizations are joining the rush to be sustainable, using green building materials and eco design principles for new commercial architecture. A closer look reveals some of this newfound sustainability is only a veneer.

Sustainable Building Design

Sustainable design is more than green architecture. It has three pillars: social, environmental, and economic. Selecting green construction materials addresses only one aspect of sustainability when it comes to building development. Other factors, such as the ethical construction of buildings and their accessibility via public transit, are also contributors to a building’s sustainable design.

Verifying a Building’s Sustainability

The Burj Dubai, on track for being the world’s tallest building at 164 storeys when it opens in 2009, is lauded in marketing literature for its energy efficient building systems. In an October 13th 2007 Globe and Mail article entitled “The Next Very, Very Big Things,” architectural critic Lisa Rochon reflected on the downside of uber-big buildings. Referring to the Burj Dubai, she wrote that immigrant labour at the site is being exploited to help keep construction costs down. These underpaid, badly-housed construction workers have been called Dubai’s dirty secret. Is this sustainable design as the architects, Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill LLP maintain, or just green-speak?