Lecture Week 03

This weeks lecture was on 'How to measure sustainability' by Murray Lane. This was quite an interesting lecture which provided another perspective on the triple bottom line basis of sustainability. Murray was proposing that sustainability can be split into principles and context when analysis a project. Principle is the core values or never changing elements - the bare essentials which sustain human life. For example, shelter, love and safety are principles of architecture. Context is the ever changing factors such as culture, economy and climate.

Murray raised quite a valid point which has never occured to me, although it seems quite obvious. Claims for sustainability need to be backed up by reasoning, considering design, construction through to operation. So considering construction techniques, materials (recycled? local? embodied energy?) and operation. To literally call a project 'sustainable' means it is able to sustain itself which is difficult.

I think that it is near impossible to try and consider all these factors in a project. Perhaps a project needs to have systems in place that eventually mitigate and offset resource use, embodied energy and operation of buildings.