Architects respond to numerous concerns through the process of designing. Political will, economy, construction technology, function, aesthetics, climate and of course the prevalent culture. However for the first time Performance and very importantly Environmental Performance can be officially added to the list.
Due to nature of architecture and design, a good designer, is a generalist, and brings together varied skills. Successful architects for example were often artists, sculptors, inventors and engineers. Modern architectural education, world over, however encouraged a narrow minded specialisation in ‘design’. The design process became compartmentalised into design, engineering the design and the act of construction. The role of architects became concentrated mostly in the first compartment called design. Such a process is used by architectural practises all over the world. The obvious benefits of this are its efficiency and speed in producing ‘business as usual’ buildings. However, this design process has taken away creative initiative from architects in areas like Environmental performance. This is because an environmentally sound idea in architecture needs to be envisioned, then developed, sold to the client, then detailed, has to be constructed and then studied to evaluate its success. Architects being the generalist they are, are best suited for this role but they have fallen for poor processes and weak education that does not deliver adequate technical skills to play their role. A well known example of the product of such thinking is the sealed glass boxed buildings which rely on full air-conditioning all year. Such buildings can be found in most large cities of the world, with new being built.
Energy crisis and more importantly climate change concerns over the past decade are forcing a rethink about building design and its relationship to performance. Architects have realised that 40% of energy use is directly due to buildings. In addition the influence of buildings on comfort and health of people is huge. Architectural design and its performance must be integrated into a single streamlined process. Experiments in this direction have only recent begun.
Attempts to involve consulting environmental engineers are considered a most common solution. They bring technical expertise back into the design process so that better ideas can then be selected and developed by architects. It’s been established by research that decisions at early concept stages have huge impacts on the final cost, the level of environmental performance and as well as larger sustainability issues. For example, convincing a client towards sustainability targets often starts in very early design stages, sometimes before actual design is presented. External consultants thus often arrive too late into the design process. When involved earlier, this approach still lacks the spontaneity and exploratory nature of process that designers thrive on. It can be stifling for designers to handle prescriptive technical design information at early stages.
It’s interesting to note that many engineering firms have recognised this challenge and have formed environmental design teams that are better geared up to creative design explorations with the architects. Architects with technical analysis training, who speak the same language, are often part of such teams. However for now these teams remain a step too far from early design process. One of the reasons contributing to this is the difference in time required to come up with design options and significantly more time required for analysing their performance for e.g. daylight, natural ventilation or energy consumption. However why is analysis not driving the design options in the first place? Furthermore, rapid development is 3d CAD technologies have freed architects to explore more complex built forms, much faster and this makes analysis even more complex. Analysis can’t be viewed as a parallel process and possibly Building information modelling (BIM) is part of the solution.
Today creative environmental solutions for built environment demand much more from architects. It is not just conceptual understanding of issues but also the skill to explore ideas in technical terms and translate them into quantifiable solutions in a collaborative environment. Performance analysis need to be integrated with the creative design process; in such a way that it directs design but also inspires creativity and innovation. This will also push the level of collaboration between designers and engineers to a higher level. Fresh thinking in design processes, better technical education and new analysis software’s is the way forward. When such a performance driven design process is successful, architectural design will become truly evocative of the environmental issues that drive it.
Harsh Thapar