Although initiatives like Build Green Canada, the Canada Green Building Council, and the Natural Resources Canada-Canadian Home Builder's Association's R-2000 and Advanced Homes already exist, Canada's carbon emissions have actually risen roughly 30 per cent over the past decade, ranking it behind only the U.S. in carbon dioxide emissions per capita. Under Manasc's presidency, the RAIC led the way in adopting the tougher Challenge 2030, which might just be the change we need; it was first to sign on to the 2030 Challenge in 2006. Since then, organizations, architects, and even municipalities in over 47 countries have signed up. Her firm, Manasc Isaac, was the second private practice in Canada to commit to the 2030 Challenge.
According to Manasc, due to Canada's colder climate, we've emphasized innovation on energy-efficiency unlike our neighbour to the south, which has focussed on materials. So Canada's right on track to be the emerging leader of energy efficiency-based projects like 2030.
One way the 2030 Challenge leads the way to a green future is by abandoning the back-to-basics approach to global warming and turning towards an urban-based green utopia.
"The world [population] is too big to go back to being farmers and hunter and gatherers," says RAIC executive director Jon Hobbs. "We're an urban world and environment-the majority of people live in cities. We really have to embrace technology to get us out of this problem."
Advocates of the 2030 Challenge point out that cities can actually be greener than rural communities; resources are more easily shared and land is more densely used, which means that buildings have less environmental impact. Architects also affect transportation use, through the placement of bike racks, for example, or by taking note of nearby pedestrian paths or stops for public transit when designing buildings.
Green urban architects also make cities more livable, with designs that emphasize narrower buildings with more windows and better ventilation. What's more, all these innovations aim at greener living in cities rather than retreating to a rural past. As Solar Buildings Research Network scientific director and Concordia university civil and environmental engineering professor Andreas Athienitis explains, "Many people think they have to sacrifice their lifestyle or go back to the Stone Age just for some sustainability. This is not the case."
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Lynne Champoux-Williams
posted 2/17/09 @ 2:08 PM EST
I am doing an internship at the Coopérative de solidarité V.E.R.T.E. (see http://www.coopverte.com/coopverte/). My mandate is to try to reach LEED certification for a new appendix to an inn. (Continued…)
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