INTRODUCTION

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological
systems remain diverse and productive over time. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and
forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. For humans, sustainability is the
potential for long-term maintenance of well-being, which has environmental, economic, and
social dimensions.

Sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and ecological consequences of
economic activity. Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails
international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles
and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from
reorganising living conditions (e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities),
reappraising economic sectors (permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or
work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green
technologies, renewable energy), to adjustments in individual lifestyles that conserve
natural resources.

However, since the 1980s sustainability has been used more in the sense of human
sustainability on planet Earth and this has resulted in the most widely quoted definition of
sustainability and sustainable development, that of the Brundtland Commission of the
United Nations on March 20, 1987: “sustainable development is development that meets
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs.”

Figure 1: Sustainable development

“buildings that will stay intact for a prolonged period”, what we are in fact concerned with
is the search for and the promotion of building methods that people can go on using with
the skills and resources available to them.
 The three pillars of sustainability

The definition of sustainability may be taken further and it is widely accepted that to
achieve sustainability we must balance economic, environmental and social factors in equal
harmony. This may be illustrated with a sustainability Venn diagram, as shown below:

Sustainability Venn diagram

So to achieve true sustainability we need to balance economic, social and environmental
sustainability factors in equal harmony. These may be defined as:
 Environmental Sustainability: Environmental sustainability means that we are living within
the means of our natural resources. To live in true environmental sustainability we need to
ensure that we are consuming our natural resources, such as materials, energy fuels, land,
water...etc., at a sustainable rate. Some resources are more abundant than others and
therefore we need to consider material scarcity, the damage to environment from
extraction of these materials and if the resource can be kept within Circular Economy
principles. Environmental sustainability should not be confused with full sustainability,
which also need to balance economic and social factors.

 Economic Sustainability: Economic sustainability requires that a business or country uses its
resources efficiently and responsibly so that it can operate in a sustainable manner to
consistently produce an operational profit. Without an operational profit a business cannot
sustain its activities. Without acting responsibly and using its resources efficiently a
company will not be able to sustain its activities in the long term.

 Social Sustainability: Social sustainability is the ability of society, or any social system, to
persistently achieve a good social well-being. Achieving social sustainability ensures that the
social well-being of a country, an organisation, or a community can be maintained in the
long term.
 Taking these three pillars of sustainability further if we only achieve two out of three pillars
then we end up with:
 Social + Economic Sustainability = Equitable
 Social + Environmental Sustainability = Bearable
 Economic + Environmental Sustainability = Viable
Only through balancing economic + social + environmental can we achieve true
sustainability and a truly circular economy.

Sustainable architecture takes time to put into place A “sustainable architecture” package
cannot be transferred as a ready-made product. In searching for sustainable architectural
approaches and an end result, we know that an overall idea may appear on paper to satisfy
the characteristics listed above, but in practice many of these components may need to be
developed to the point where they achieve sustainability in their given context. This takes
time, to train and develop skills, to demonstrate an idea, or to put in place an organizational
or financial system that can become sustainable.

Sustainable architecture is context specific as illustrated above, the sustainable architecture

approach brings together several characteristics. However, each of these characteristics is
essentially context specific, and relate to the resources that are locally available, or to the
customs and needs of the local population.

Thus one cannot classify a particular building technology as being “a sustainable

architecture technology”, nor can one assume that a credit system that works well in one
place will work well in another. But we can assess the potential of a particular process or
material to make a valid contribution towards sustainable architecture in a given locality.

When considering what techniques and approaches may potentially produce popularly
accessible and sustainable architecture that responds to the characteristics above, the
following criteria form a basis for assessment:

Visions of Sustainable architecture:

• Makes substantial use of locally available materials and local means of transport;

• Uses resources that are available in sufficient quantity to satisfy a general demand and not
damage the environment;

• Does not depend on equipment that is not easily available;

• Uses skills that can be realistically developed in the community;

• Can be afforded within the local socio-economic context;

• Produces a durable result;

• Responds to and resists the effects of the local climate;

• Provides flexibility to adapt to local habits and needs;

• Can be replicated by the local community.