T
he demand for sustainability is a must
in today’s society and it calls for the
transformation of our production
system towards a non-contaminating,
non-destructive model, which allows
us to keep the quality of our resources available
for generations to come.
This demand, with strong social and economic
repercussions, means looking at the resources
required to satisfy any given need in a socially
acceptable way. And one of these needs, with a
strong commitment to resources, is how to obtain
the habitability necessary to shelter social activities in specific dimensional and environmental
conditions: or the utility that meets the building.
Construction often uses a considerable amount
of resources in order to provide this habitability
required by society. The construction of a standard square metre of a building might mean direct
use of almost two tonnes of materials (plus any
indirect material removal needed), and the energy
needed to manufacture it all, which could result
in 150 litres of fuel (implying the emission of more
than 400 kg of CO2 into the atmosphere) being
used. Additionally, occupying the building needs
energy to maintain its habitability, and in Europe
this means more than 40% of the primary energy
used in social activities. The impact on the manufacture of material and the use of energy during
usage are the key to sustainability in construction
today.
Sustainability in construction means satisfying
the demand of habitability whilst reducing
non-recycled, contaminated residue via the
environment (renewable material) or via technical
systems (recyclable material) – and this supposes
a challenge which the sector holds dear as its
immediate objective.
L
a demanda de sostenibilidad es ya una
exigencia social ineludible que reclama la
transformación de nuestro sistema productivo hacia un sistema no contaminante – no
destructor del medio – y que permita mantener la
calidad de los recursos para su disponibilidad por
las generaciones futuras.
Esa exigencia, que tiene fuertes repercusiones
sociales y económicas, supone la consideración de
los recursos necesarios para satisfacer cualquier
necesidad de forma socialmente aceptable. Y una
de esas necesidades – y de fuerte compromiso
con los recursos – es la obtención de la
habitabilidad necesaria para cobijar las actividades
sociales en unas condiciones dimensionales y
ambientales determinadas. Eso es, la utilidad que
satisface la edificación.
La edificaci