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  • Hin Fah

Sustainable Architecture Needs Technology and Tradition

In recent years, the debate on sustainable buildings has intensified due to the unequivocal impact of the built environment on climate change. The common response to this challenge is to introduce technological fixes to reduce energy consumption, either through insulation or high-efficiency heating or cooling. However, several architects today argue that we should more radically rethink modern architecture and re-embrace local and traditional designs to make our built environment inherently more sustainable.

Our observations


Before the industrial revolution, architecture was vernacular (i.e. local, traditional and functional) in that it relied on local materials and was based on local designs that suited local (climate) conditions. Following the industrial revolution, steel and concrete allowed for greater freedom to design and build buildings for an advancing society, with a strong focus on cost-efficiency and functionality. From the late 19th century, architecture was further fueled by electric equipment (e.g. electric lights, central heating or air conditioning). As a result, buildings turned into uniform and mostly square shapes that have little concern for air quality, water or energy use. It was only in the last decades that we started documenting the ecological effects of our lifestyle.Among other architects, Sandra Piesik argues that we should re-embrace elements from traditional vernacular architecture, such as shapes that provide natural ventilation, as these allow us to design buildings that are intrinsically more sustainable (e.g. require less energy for heating or cooling). On a different note, Bjarke Ingles seeks to integrate these kinds of ideas with new technology into a concept of hedonistic sustainability in which sustainable architecture does not imply any compromises in terms of cost or functionality.

Traditional architecture not only provides clues for saving energy, it can also learn us about dealing with ongoing climate change. This is true for designs that include natural shading or ventilation, but also for dealing with extreme weather events. In Tonga, for instance, traditional curved roofs are able to withstand storms and cyclones due to their aerodynamics properties.

Connecting the dots

The growing awareness of the vast climate impact of the built environment and the subsequent debate on sustainable buildings, homes and commercial property, has created momentum for the development and implementation of sustainable solutions. However, architects are stuck in an architectural lock-in, characterized by the building of basic, cost-efficient, uniform square-shaped buildings that have little to do with local (climate) conditions. As a result, to make these buildings livable or workable, they rely heavily on additional technology (e.g. electric lights and climate control systems) which increases their energy consumption. There has been much progress in terms of improving these technologies, e.g. making them more energy-efficient, and they are very valuable to making the current stock of buildings more sustainable. However, when it comes to new buildings, they can only be one part of the solution. The problem is that these add-ons only address the symptoms of flawed, non-sustainable architecture, rather than the root cause.


In response, several architects now argue for a re-embrace of (elements of) traditional, vernacular, architecture that actually takes into account local conditions and local needs. Such design features can include exploiting natural light and ventilation by the specific placement of windows and walls (e.g. mashrabiya, projecting windows that allow cool air to flow in from relatively cool streets, or Iranian windcatchers). Traditional materials can also be used for their intrinsically useful properties (e.g. reed for insulation). One example of a modern building that makes use of such traditional principles is Bjarke Ingles’s skyscraper in Shenzhen (tropical climate). It uses 30% less electricity by playing with dress-like facades to block sunlight from the south, while still maximizing daylight. Beyond single buildings, vernacular architecture also provide clues for smarter spatial planning. In southern Taiwan, for instance, traditional villages were built on an east-west axis to make use of prevailing winds for ventilation and cooling.

To be clear, using elements from vernacular architecture does not mean that modern technology has no role to play. By contrast, the combination of tradition and high-tech would most likely provide the best results. For instance, digital modeling techniques can factor in sunlight, prevailing winds, airflow and turbulence and help optimize designs. 3D printing provides unprecedented freedom to build any design while minimizing materials use. As such, high-tech can actually facilitate and optimize the old wisdoms of traditional architecture.



Vernacular architecture is local and traditional. Global warming may, however, call for vernacular design elements in places where those designs were never used (or needed) before and this could result in resistance against such unfamiliar esthetics. Moreover, in some cases there may be a need to change building codes to allow for these new, “out-of-place”, designs.

(via Dasym)

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