With Lionel Astruc as its editor-in-chief, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui publishes its second annual special issue, SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS, dedicated in 2012 to the resilience theme.

The ambition for this special issue is to propose to architecture professionals a "reference guide", practical and critical, conceived as a genuine work tool with accurate editorial contents organized around 4 sections :

- Architecture & Urban planning

- Energy & Transport

- Housing & Society

- Business & Responsibility

Faithful to ‘A’A’ new format, SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS proposes different point of views, practical example and case studies to analyse the mutations of the sustainable construction field. Many disciplines (architects, thinkers, engineers, landscapers, ...) bring their critical perspectives on the market and its trends.

SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS as also been thought as a practical directory which lists, theme by theme (Structural system, Finishings & fittings, Energy, …) reference companies, their positioning, their products, their key figures, their project references… A work tool which enables professionals to document their choices in terms of sustainable construction.

If you want to read Lionel Astruc's editorial, click here.

SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS 2012 - Available from January 13th 2012

By Lionel ASTRUC

Several decades of cheap oil have meant that the idea of sourcing raw materials from distant regions of the world has become second nature, not only in the construction industry but in other sectors too. Indeed, few people now take the time to look closer at hand for materials that might serve their purposes.

Of course, the local approach is more fastidious: paradoxically, just a few clicks of a computer mouse suffice to import raw materials from the other end of the earth, while those available just a few miles away are more difficult to procure. The development of locally sourced materials is also hindered by the need for a more highly qualified work force – skilled technicians are relatively hard to come by – as well as by obsolete legislation. But in spite of these issues, a number of pioneering companies have recently decided to reclaim local, natural materials, including timber, earth, stone, straw and hemp.

One of the easiest materials to source locally is none other than earth. Unfamiliar to many architects, the use of earth provides a number of opportunities, both in ecological, social and economic terms, as well as from the point of view of efficiency. While traditional legislation and general prejudice continue to hinder the development of the use of this material, an increasing number of architects are taking an interest in it.

In fact, France is a leader in the field, particularly thanks to the CRAterre laboratory in Grenoble which offers the world’s only post-graduate course in earthwork structures. CRAterre also pilots the UNESCO Chair in Architecture, Constructive Cultures and Sustainable Development, cultivating a network of partnerships, particularly in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Not only is there a substantial amount of earthwork heritage in all these regions, but the material also lends itself to innovation. An example is provided by the reconstruction programme launched in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake: for the inhabitants of the island, earth is not only a cheap, local material that they can use themselves, but it can also be applied in such a way as to decrease injury and loss of life in the event of future earthquakes.

Meanwhile, timber is another product that is easy to source at the local level. The region of Vorarlberg in Austria has chosen to exploit the white firs which dominate the local landscape. But the priority given to local raw materials is only one of the ways in which this little Land is demonstrating its commitment to green issues. People now come from all over Europe to see one of the most complete and coherent architectural approaches that the continent has to offer. Underpinned by an approach based on collective intelligence, eco-construction and ecological urbanism is now applied throughout the region.

In France, an increasing number of professionals in the construction industry are focusing on local resources (natural and human). That is why we have chosen to dedicate our practical guide to the issue of locally sourced materials in the construction industry, so that everyone can access them more easily. A strategic subject, local sourcing has already been taken on board by both regional authorities and private citizens. A necessary and challenging approach at a time when many distribution networks are in trouble.

SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS 2012 - Architecture & Urban planning section

By Lionel ASTRUC

If we had the ability to read the dreams of the energy expert, Thierry SALOMON, founder and president of the negaWatt association, we would meet citizens sporting odd pairs of spectacles which enable them to see at a glance the potential energy savings by which we are surrounded. Ideal for the kind of short-sighted people that we are, at least in terms of curbing energy consumption. Thierry Salomon happily defines his organisation as “an energy optician”. The dream has now become a reality in the form of a unit of measurement making it possible to quantify the kind of consumption that can be avoided: the negaWatt.

This invention has enabled SALOMON, with the aid of a wide network of experts, to develop a scenario describing our way of life. This extremely pragmatic, mathematical approach to forecasting the future now serves as a valuable aid for many decision-makers in numerous industries. One of the key variables of the scenario is none other than urbanism and architecture.

The process of the reappropriation of energy production on the part of private individuals, a vital part of negaWatt programme, is already underway, not only in France, but also in many other parts of the world. Communal wind farms, collective boiler rooms fed by wood pellets, methane production based on organic farming waste, and plans for reducing consumption have enabled certain regions to meet their energy saving targets. These approaches demonstrate the degree to which the future of energy production will be based on sobriety and on the decentralization of a system that is still ultra-centralized.

Although, today, this approach is more highly developed in rural areas than in urban ones, cities are also getting in on the act. This evolution highlights the importance of the human factor in the process of energy transition: our inquiry on urban logistics shows that the solution to traffic congestion and pollution issues in downtown areas is primarily dependent on our capacity to call current practices into question, to develop new organisational perspectives, and, lastly, to cooperate with competitors as well as allies in order to avoid the kind of absurd situation in which three lorries deliver three different parcels to the same address.

Reorganising approaches to urban logistics is not only a major issue in terms of reducing green house gas emissions; it also contributes to increasing the quality of life of people living in such areas. The growing influence of ecological concerns is generating new solutions such as bicycle deliveries, which reduce traffic and pollution as well as noise.

This new perspective on urban logistics demonstrates that the issue of energy not only concerns private individuals (eco-gestures, responsible consumption, etc.), but also implies organisation at the collective level. We have therefore included a practical guide for territories (neighbourhoods, communes, cantons, etc.) interested in implementing an energy transition programme. From the choice to produce energy autonomously to the decision to make the built environment more compact and promote non-polluting transport methods, the initiatives recommended contribute to a global approach in which politicians, town planners and architects often play a leading role.

SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS 2012 - Energy & Transport section

By Lionel ASTRUC

Do eco-responsible goods and services cost more than conventional ones? The idea that they do often serves as a pretext for economic actors to abandon their green projects, especially in periods of crisis. But the truth is more complex. In order to achieve a return-on-investment in an ecological initiative, a number of long-term factors have to be analysed.

Private individuals will need to be mindful of economic, energy and health concerns, while commercial factors and the increased involvement of collaborators will have to be taken into consideration by companies. Such factors are often ignored. On the other hand, the idea that ecological projects are expensive is gainsaid by reality, as the various themes dealt with here demonstrate. In terms of eco-construction, for example, a number of solutions offer project heads the possibility of considerably reducing the price of completed buildings.

The German architect Hubert BURDENSKI explains the self-development approach, which consists of planning, without the aid of a developer, the construction of ecological buildings which meet specific criteria defined by individual owner-residents. This approach not only creates social bonds, but also reduces costs by 25%, rendering ecological residences much more accessible. Many successful programmes have been completed in Germany, notably in eco-neighbourhoods, but the practice is current across Europe, including in France.

The success of this approach demonstrates that ecological initiatives are often more dependent on the vision of entrepreneurs than on cost considerations: self-development requires a high degree of commitment on the part of the actors involved, who need, amongst other things, to meet with on numerous occasions and learn how to cooperate with one another in order to be certain that all owners are satisfied, while at the same time ensuring that the group of residents stays united.

In sum, ecological initiatives do not just involve financial investments, but also require time and commitment. And, as the Transition Towns concept demonstrates, this is not just true of construction. The Transition Towns approach calls upon collectivities (cities, neighbourhoods, villages, cantons, etc.) to transform the challenge of peak oil into an opportunity by increasing autonomy in areas such as energy and food procurement. It is based on the involvement of local people and their capacity to collectively change their habits. So far, over three hundred Transition Town initiatives have been introduced in countries including the United States, Japan, France, New Zealand and Sweden.

This democratic movement is designed, in particular, to anticipate the oil peak and relocalise certain production centres in the energy and food industries. Cutting out often expensive middlemen, this rapprochement between producers and consumers makes ecology financially accessible to all. But a return to locally sourced food and, consequently, local agriculture implies a new vision of regional development, particularly around the cities, as is demonstrated in our inquiry on locally sourced food.

Many neighbourhoods are encouraging a return to periurban agriculture to meet the needs of local people. Citizens are expressing their desire to return to local production and, more widely, to reconnect with nature by means of communal gardens. It seems that these food-producing havens have invaded every last vacant space: at the foot of high-rises, by the side of railway lines and on the roofs of buildings. For the landscape artist, Gilles CLÉMENT, this incursion of nature into the heart of the city offers gardeners an outstanding opportunity to renew social bonds between various categories of the population who are often cut off from one another.

But the return to nature in the city also involves an ecological issue: including vegetation in an urban architectural project while at the same time respecting the environment means, for example, observing precise criteria concerning care of the soil, the choice of species planted and the management of water. If, upstream, the planning of such projects is strategic, the application of inexpensive, ecological good practices is, once again, a source of substantial savings. Sustainable development should not therefore be viewed as a sacrifice involving extra expenditure, but, instead, as an opportunity to be grasped.

SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS 2012 - Housing & Society section

By Lionel ASTRUC

The number of builders in France willing to use ecological materials, even though they have to pay more for them than for conventional products, has increased by 26% in the space of a single year (2010-2011). According to the European Architectural Barometer, which bases the figure quoted above on a survey of 1200 architects, this dynamic is particularly strong in France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Consumer demand has prompted a growing number of professionals in the construction industry to take the tenets of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into account. Nevertheless, in spite the vexed issue of the sector's dependence of fossil fuels, only a very few major companies ever turn to local, ecological suppliers. In effect, this more responsible approach provides an ideal platform from which to launch major social and ecological change: encouraging the development of these as yet embryonic sources of supply reduces CO2 emissions by cutting down on transport needs and creates local jobs which cannot be delocalised.

Jean-Pierre OLIVA regularly advises builders looking for organically sourced materials. He tells us that they remain difficult to access due to regulations that fail properly to take ecological issues into account, and that builders themselves are not used to working with such materials, which require specific skills.

But in spite of these obstacles, some firms specialising in eco-construction, such as CARACOL, based in the Isère region in France, are proving that using local, ecological materials in architectural projects is by no means beyond the scope of human ingenuity. The way in which the company is organised also attests to the fact that sustainable development in the field of architecture is not limited to procurement, but concerns a wide range of issues, including social questions and governance. A genuine laboratory, CARACOL shows us how to integrate good practices at each stage of the construction process, thus rendering them strategically vital.

In effect, environmental concerns promote a global view of the industry in which a "cradle to grave" approach is taken to building materials. In this perspective, our special issue concludes with a thoroughgoing inquiry on the journey taken by building site waste. There is considerable room for improvement in this field, provided that the issue is addressed upstream. One of the key actors in terms of improving waste management is none other than architecture itself. Readers are invited to peruse our practical guide to limiting waste and to sorting waste products. As well as their ecological virtues, the good practices detailed in these pages provide substantial savings. In conclusion, there is no reason not to get rid of our bad habits.

SUSTAINABLE PROSPECTS 2012 - Business & Responsibility section