One of my all-time favorite games is Plants vs. Zombies (DISCLAIMER: no copyright infringement intended for the logo). This is the simplest representation of the construction industry’s role as one of the major culprits in the destruction of the climate. We are in a never-ending construction of concrete structures that we lose sight of considering the detrimental effects on the environment. When nature takes revenge, it could be in an abrupt and brutal way.  

According to the World Green Building Council (WGBC), buildings accountable for the 39% of global energy-related carbon emissions.

We can reduce the impact by building green buildings. Green architecture should not be a special feature. It should be a requirement and responsibility of design and construction professionals to the built environment.

Is green architecture expensive? My answer is “Partly,Yes” but “Mostly, No”.

Partly Yes means adding greeneries, buying solar panels, water recycling system, etc. are additional expenses compared to the traditional concrete buildings.

Mostly No, because it is a cheaper and smarter move in the long run. Your building will be high performing from design to construction even up to habitation as it will consume less energy, less water, etc. These strategies significantly reduce the carbon footprint of buildings and their users. It will contribute an immense impact in combating climate change.

As a matter of fact, the mere adding of greeneries has various advantages. Numerous data and researches state that it will increase your property value and is a big win to end-users due to improved productivity and wellbeing due to better indoor environment.

However, placing vegetation on your building is not as simple as garnishing parsley on your food. It should be integrated in an appropriate way. Vegetation should be suitable for the local conditions. Consideration of maintenance such as irrigation, pruning, and providing nutrients is a must.

Addressing building GHG emissions should not be solely blamed to the climate-insensitive construction industry. For my co-design professionals, we should educate our clients the benefits of green architecture. The government and green building codes should be implemented, promote (better if require) and incentivize green builders.

There should not be Plants versus buildings. No matter what the term you know is like green architecture, bioclimatic, biophilic design, net-zero buildings, etc., these are all towards the same goal. Moving forward while caring for the environment. It is where nature and buildings can co-exist.