Le Monde
Saturday 29 September 2007
How to promote "green" architecture? During the environment "Grenelle," [French] Ecology and Sustainable Planning and Development Minister Jean-Louis Borloo consulted architect Françoise-Hélène Jourda. At 52, this figure of French architecture is one of the Hexagon's few specialists in ecological construction. She has just completed a botanical museum in Bordeaux equipped with photovoltaic greenhouses and is about to start construction in December on an office building in Saint-Denis that should become France's first passive energy building.
What is "sustainable architecture?"
The expression doesn't really mean much. I prefer responsible architecture. That implies responding to present needs without harming future generations' ability to respond to their needs. To do that, one must preserve the means available to them. We have been irresponsible for a very long time.
What does that imply so far as construction materials are concerned?
Good management of five resources: the soil, materials themselves, water, air and energy. One must use the least land possible, increasing the density of and satisfaction to be derived from existing infrastructures. Renewable, recoverable and recyclable materials should be favored. Water needs must be minimized: Use rain. Don't pollute the air outside with waste like that from air conditioners. Finally, there comes the energy question, the most complex one.
Why?
The energy consumed by the building and its maintenance must be limited, through insulation and by producing complementary and renewable energies, solar especially. But one must also take into account what is called "gray" energy, consumed by the materials themselves from their production up to their treatment after use. Wood has very minor gray energy; aluminum is very bad. Concrete comes somewhere between the two, but it is not recyclable, which is a big handicap.
Is responsible construction changing the face of architecture?
Sustainable development is going to shake up architectural composition as much as the industrial revolution did. We can no longer refer to the same aesthetic. Buildings will have to be more compact, but it's up to us to assure that that compactness becomes beautiful. Many buffer spaces will have to be created. Buildings will also be less widely glassed-in. In short, exactly the opposite of the offices shooting up in Paris's new neighborhoods! Many architects are going to have to stop contemplating their navels and produce new forms.
You can't say that architecture's big stars are leading the way ...
No! Sustainable development is a source of innovation and pleasure, but many architects think that that will aggravate them. Yet they have enough talent to make it an asset. Buildings like Jean Nouvel's Paris Philharmonic, all in aluminum, are a horror from the perspective of sustainable development.
What do you think of the "High Environmental Quality" (HQE) label more and more projects invoke?
HQE was a good thing at first; that sensitized people. But the label has perverse effects. One may absolutely not say that these buildings are of "high environmental quality." They only have to achieve four out of fourteen targets, and there's almost no oversight or control. You see HQE buildings without solar protection and with air conditioning! There are too many and not sufficiently exigent labels in France.
What avenues have you suggested to the minister of ecology?
There are many obstacles that must be lifted. France is fifteen years behind Europe with respect to the regulation and homologation of techniques and materials. For example, it is very difficult to reuse rainwater; highly insulating walls are discouraged by counting their depth in the surface reference for tax purposes; there's no data bank on materials' gray energy ...
Is "responsible" building more expensive?
You have to count 10-15 percent of additional costs to make something right. That difference is amortized by energy economies, but over a time period difficult to evaluate: It depends on the development of energy prices. That can range from five to fifteen years.
How have you implemented these precepts for the Saint-Denis building?
It's a compact building made of steel and concrete that can be disassembled. The facade - lightweight in spite of its 47 centimeter thickness, is made of recyclable materials. Everything is conceived to make the offices transform easily into residences. Rainwater is recovered for the garden; there's natural ventilation and thermal mass cooling instead of air-conditioning.... The insulation allows very low energy consumption, more than offset by the photovoltaic cells on the roof and facade. By reselling the surplus, the building should even earn money.
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Architect Françoise-Hélène Jourda is the French specialist in "green" buildings.
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