Green building

Author: Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology Green Building Research Center
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-06-01
Features: Preface Today, the concept, principles, and action programs of sustainable development have been recognized by the international community. Governments of all countries are working on formulating their own 21st Century Agendas to establish the direction of environment and development, and actively exploring pathways for socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable development. Industries and sectors have also taken action to research and formulate sustainable development plans in their respective fields, carrying out interdisciplinary and cross-regional cooperation with the goal of achieving a benign ecological cycle, and implementing large-scale ecological projects.
China, as the largest developing country, despite facing numerous challenges such as a large population, economic underdevelopment, and resource scarcity, has demonstrated visionary strategic foresight and great determination. Since the 1970s, it has been constructing what is arguably the world's largest ecological project—the "Three-North" Shelterbelt Forest System. Starting in the 1980s, China has promoted the "Ecological Agriculture" technology and the construction of agricultural "Ecological Villages" nationwide, achieving remarkable results. In the field of architecture, energy-saving and land-saving measures have been vigorously promoted, energy-saving communities and solar energy communities have been developed and constructed, relevant policies and regulations on land conservation have been formulated in a timely manner, and underground space has been actively developed, yielding significant achievements.
Following the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, China formulated the "China 21st Century Agenda" in 1994, proposing a comprehensive strategy and policies to promote coordinated, sustainable development among the economy, society, resources, environment, population, and education. The "China 21st Century Agenda" serves as a guiding document for development plans across all sectors of China. In recent years, China's architectural community has kept pace with the times, actively engaging in research and practice related to sustainable development, and has already achieved preliminary results.
In 1997, Professor Wu Liangyong of Tsinghua University published the article "Reflections on the Future of Architecture" in the Journal of Architecture, which is a guiding document with insightful perspectives. With keen observation, he reviewed the history of 20th-century architecture and pointed out the direction for Chinese architecture with visionary strategic insight. In the article, Wu Liangyong emphasized: "Sustainable development, as the theme of the era, is and continues to exert a tremendous impact," and "sustainable development will promote significant progress in architecture." Professor Bao Jiasheng of Southeast University published the article "Sustainable Development and the Future of Architecture," proposing the "Five Directions" for sustainable development architecture, namely: moving toward nature-respecting architecture, open architecture, intensive design, interdisciplinary design, and practice. The National Natural Science Foundation of China has held four youth scholar seminars on "Human Settlement Environment," which have garnered significant attention domestically. A group of young scholars, based on their respective research, have also published a series of high-quality papers, contributing significantly to the development of Chinese architecture.
In 1996, the National Natural Science Foundation of China officially listed "Research on Green Building Systems" as a key research project under the "Ninth Five-Year Plan," and in 1998, it included "Research on Sustainable Development of Human Settlements in China" as another key project, providing clear guidance and strong support for sustainable development research in architecture.
Regarding green building, its history is very long. Indigenous green buildings have grown alongside humanity, with the systems of primitive dwellings and their developments across the world having endured for thousands of years, passing through the long period of agricultural civilization. After the Industrial Revolution, science and technology generated tremendous productivity, promoting social prosperity and economic growth, but they also fueled humanity's insatiable desires, leading to the reckless exploitation of natural resources and the deterioration of the living environment, with human settlements gradually being engulfed by grayness.
In the 1960s of this century, pollution incidents and environmental pollution became frequent, triggering a green movement. In the 1970s, this green movement reached its peak, even giving rise to a green political in some countries. Against this backdrop, some architects and architectural groups seized the opportunity to conduct research and practice in "green" areas such as energy-saving buildings, earth-building, and ecological buildings. Taking the United States as an example, in 1974, architect Sim van der Ryn designed and built what was claimed to be the most self-sufficient urban residential building in the U.S., integrating green technologies such as solar heating, waste recycling, and self-produced food, which was called "ecological architecture." More efforts were focused on experimental explorations centered on energy-saving and the promotion of green energy (such as solar, wind, hydro, and biomass energy), reflecting the era's characteristics of energy crises in Western societies. At that time, scholars had already proposed ideas related to sustainable communities, such as Emory Robinson's "Soft Energy."
In 1987, the United Nations Environment Programme published the "Declaration on Sustainable Development," which greatly encouraged architects and groups engaged in energy-saving and green movements. They quickly embraced the concept of sustainable development to refine their theories, methods, and practical achievements.
Today, under the new circumstances of China fully implementing the sustainable development strategy, we are conducting research on green building systems, which has fundamentally changed compared to the 1960s and 1970s. We believe that a green building system, under the guidance of sustainable development theory, is a limited system that focuses on solving the two major themes of environment and development. The goal of establishing a green building system is to foster an ecological civilization perspective, recognizing nature as the material foundation for human survival and development; to reconstruct the human settlement system through the coexistence of humans and nature, and the coexistence of artificial and natural environments; and to reshape the professional ethics of architects through ecological ethics. Architects and architects should, through the spaces they create, promote the coordinated evolution between humans and nature, as well as harmonious cooperation and equal development among people.
Generally speaking, green building can also be referred to as ecological sustainable architecture, which aims to ensure that the built environment meets the needs of human health and socio-economic activities over the long term without harming the basic ecological environment.
Sustainable development theory profoundly reveals the operating mechanisms of the complex "Nature-Society-Economy" system, uncovering both natural laws and human laws, as well as the higher-level interweaving and evolution of nature and culture. In this sense, a green building system is a sustainable development-oriented architecture based on the profession itself and its sphere of influence.
The research team of the "Green Building System Research" project at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology aims to build a green building system for the Loess Plateau of China. Through the study of the historical process of interaction between humans, nature, and architecture, they explore the operating mechanisms of the "production-living-ecology" composite system, seek residential models supported by green technologies and regulatory mechanisms for sustainable development, and, with the support of the Shaanxi Provincial Government and the Yan'an Municipal Government, construct a green residential demonstration project in Yan'an Zaoyuan as a test base, providing a scientific basis for establishing residential models suitable for China's sustainable development.
To welcome the 20th Congress of the International Union of Architects (UIA) to be held in Beijing, with the strong support of China Plan Press, we have compiled and summarized the theory, methods, relevant knowledge, and domestic and international experiences related to "green building" for publication. First, to express our practical actions in fulfilling the "China 21st Century Agenda" at the turn of the century, and second, to encourage more young and middle-aged architects and students to pay close attention and actively participate in the research and practice of sustainable architecture. Because, in the 21st century, sustainable development will undoubtedly become the inevitable choice for Chinese architecture.
Zhou Ruoqi
May 4, 1999