Post contributed by architect Luis Bentancor. Below is an excerpt of an article he wrote called Deforestation & Architecture. This section is actually the final section of the article, discussing how architecture and deforestation are related, and what can be done to improve the situation. Para leerlo en español, visita Todo Arquitectura.
Architecture
If at first sight architecture does not seem to be related with what was exposed, in reality it is, and in a serious way.
In the industrialized countries from North America, Scandinavia and in many Pacific countries, wood is the most common material for the constructions of homes. And wood is always used in diverse and varied ways in all the stages of the construction process in the world.
According to the World Watch Institute based in Washington, 25% of the wood extracted from the forests is used for construction purposes. Because it is clear that architecture plays an important role in the demand for wood, it has its share of responsibility in the deforestation process.
Architecture, therefore, can contribute in a significant way to the diminution and prevention of this process.
How can architecture help fight the problem of deforestation and its consequences? It can in many ways in all the stages of the architectural process; from design to construction and until the end of the building’s life. Certain measures can be taken in this regard, some of them are:
- Specifying certified wood.
- During the construction process a plan can be elaborated to separate all the resulting debris, among them wood, so they can be then taken to recycling plants.
- It is possible to construct new buildings taking advantage of certain elements from old buildings. Structural elements, floors, windows and others wood elements that are still in good condition in abandoned buildings can be re-adapted in new projects, and can generally be acquired at a very low cost.
- In remodeling projects trying to save and use the largest amount possible of existing wood elements from the building.
- When a demolition is carried out, it is important to save the elements, which can be reused in other projects. This measure, together with the other three mentioned, decrease the demand of new wood.
- When new buildings or urbanizations are designed, adapt the design to the existing trees and include them in the new project, instead of cutting them and totally clean the terrain.
- Wood can be substituted for other alternative materials that are found in the region. For example, in many countries where there is a lot of bamboo, this material is an important construction material, and if we take in account that pine trees take 40 years to produce one cubic meter of wood and bamboo after 5 years can be a usable material, it is obvious that the use of this last material is a much more sustainable option.
Applying these measures, architecture contributes to the diminution of deforestation.
Saving the world from deforestation and its terrible consequences is not achieved by applying a few isolated measures, but with the combination of those small isolated measures that each inhabitant of the planet can carry out on a daily basis and in his/her professional activity. Architecture professionals have the ability and the responsibility to contribute in the attainment of this objective.
*Primary forests are those that have existed untouched by humans and/or other sorts of disturbances during periods of time larger than the normal life period of their mature trees.
To read the remainder of this article, which actually precedes this section, please click the link below.
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