Art Or Eco?architects Wrestle With Their Role In A Climate-challenged World

摘要

Pablo picasso's art left virtually no carbon footprint. Same for the creative work of Twyla Tharp, Ernest Hemingway, and Jimi Hendrix. Not so for Frank Lloyd Wright, Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe, and their architectural successors. Buildings' lighting, heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation systems collectively consume an estimated 70 percent of the United States' electricity and account for almost half of its carbon dioxide emissions. Globally, building construction uses millions of tons of energy-intensive materials, including concrete, steel, glass, and lumber. "If we have to build, then we should make a special effort to make the buildings as sustainable as possible," says architect Cesar Pelli, known for his striking use of glass and his 88-story Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the tallest twin buildings in the world. Architectural icons, the towers have also won acclaim for their"cool recovery"energy system, which halves the amount of energy required for air-conditioning.