ECO-ARCHITECTURE

Eco-architecture sees buildings as part of the larger ecology of the planet and the building as part of a living habitat. The human has increasingly sophisticated technologies to exploit the Earth’s natural resources. But it should be known that buildings are the most damaging polluters on the planet, consuming over half of all the energy used and producing over half of all climate-change gases.

For example, air-conditioning systems represent the greatest source of climate-change gases.

The shift towards green design began in the 1970s and was a response to high oil prices. It was then that the first of the oil shocks sent fossil fuel prices sky high and the ‘futurologists’ began to look at the life history of fossil fuels on the planet and make claims about how much oil and gas were left.

The oil crisis of the 1970s resulted in the rise of the solar house movement: homes built to use clean renewable energy from the Sun.

In the 1980s came the next big shock climate change. It was then that the rates of depletion in the ozone layer and the increase in greenhouse gases and global warming became apparent.

Nowadays the world needs a new profession of architecture-engineers, who can design passive buildings that use minimal energy and the energy they use comes from renewable sources if possible.

The key issues of green buildings are resource conservation, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water conservation features; using ecological building materials; and waste minimization. The main concept of eco-architecture is defined as “taking less from the Earth and giving more to people.”

Vocabulary:

claim ['kleIm] n. – заявление

consume [kqn'sj³m] v. – потреблять, тратить, расходовать

depletion [dIp'l°Sn] n.– истончение, уменьшение

fossil fuel ['fPsqlfj³ql] – природное топливо (газ и уголь), полезные ископаемые

habitat ['hxbItxt] n.– место жительства, среда обитания

impact ['Impxkt] n.– влияние

issue ['IS³] n.- проблема

polluter [pq'l³tq] n.– источник загрязнения

rate [reIt] n.– показатель, величина, скорость

renewable [rI'nj³qbl] a.- восстановимый, возобновляемый

result in [rI'zAlt In] v.– приводить к

see [ѕі׃] v. – зд. рассматривать

shift [SIft] n.– изменение, сдвиг

sophisticated [sq'fIstI"keItId] a.– сложный

waste [weIst] n.– отходы

Answer the following questions:

1. How does eco-architecture see buildings?

2. Why are buildings considered to be the most damaging polluters?

3. What represents the greatest source of climate-change gases?

4. When and why did the shift towards green design begin?

5. What did the oil crisis of the 1970s result in?

6. When did the rates of depletion in the ozone layer and the increase in greenhouse gases and global warming become apparent?

7. What new type of buildings do architecture-engineers need to design?

8. What are the key issues of green buildings?

9. How is the main concept of eco-architecture defined?

ПМ, ПМИ (II семестр)