This ‘food for thought article’ called ‘Green building standards’, written by Dr. Ami Ran and Shai van Vlijmen, was originally published in Architecture of Israel #129 (May 2022, pages 60 – 47).
Fighting climate change is not something we can do alone. As much as we would like to have influence over our own lives, sometimes it is not enough in a global, worldwide issue.
The world agreement around the ozone layer at the end of the 80’s is an example that it’s possible. The current climate change is a much bigger problem and also more complicated to solve. As an ecological sustainable architect firm we are working on a change of the building industry in the Netherlands. Not only by talking and writing about it, but by doing.
Walk the Talk! Practice What You Preach.
As a member of the Gideon – building transition tribes (#GideonsTribe) we are inspired by the impact that a driven group of people can make. We are enthusiast professionals that would like to spread our knowledge locally and internationally.
We have connections with many colleagues around the word that are also busy with biophilic design and biobased architecture. A while ago, we’ve been asked to write an article in the Israeli Architecture Magazine, with architect Dr Ami Ran, about the new green building standards. The article with some examples of our own realized projects, can be found online. For the online version use this link. For the download of the PDF version use this link.
Do you also want to join the Dutch Gideo’s movement? Or to stay up-to-date? Sign in via the online form: https://www.gideonstribe.nl/contact
Together we are strong!
The beginning of the article you can read here: ‘Updated Green Building Standards (5281 and 1045 in Israel) came into force in March 2022 with the overall goal of reducing energy consumption in new construction in regard to building materials, shading, ventilation, sealing, insulation and natural light. Overall, the response of those in this already over-regulated industry was antagonistic: the new standards are insufficient, overdue, largely superfluous, and they contribute nothing to simplifying already complicated planning processes and procedures.
The ‘new’ Israeli standards differ little from those adopted in Europe forty years ago, despite innovations and new options in construction technology.
Moreover, unlike what can be understood by the new standards, climate aware design and building does not depend on additional layers of polystyrene foam. Simply put, a return to the basic principles of architectural design deployed before the widespread adoption of air-conditioning would achieve thermal comfort without reliance on clicking a button.’