Green Architecture Essay by Top Papers

Sustainability is a word that has become fashionable in the last decade, but in truth sustainability is not a matter of fashion but of survival. Environmental issues affect architecture at every level, given that "building consumes half the energy used in developed world" (Yeang, 2001, p.34). While architects cannot solve all the world's environmental problems, they can design buildings to operate at a fraction of current levels and so help reduce the burning of fossil fuels. Certainly, energy usage is a global problem and one the most complex and problematic issues facing humanity.