Architects and developers remain completely in the dark about the cost and energy-saving benefits of self-sustaining 'living buildings', according to eco-tower pioneer Ken Yeang. His comments came as the British Council for Offices (BCO) released a major new report, Designing for Biodiversity, co-authored by Yeang, which sets out a commercial case for incorporating vegetation within buildings. Yeang, who published his ground-breaking The Skyscraper: Bioclimatically Considered more than 13 years ago, said: 'If we keep using energy at the rate we're using it, then in 10 or 20 years the whole world will run out of fossil fuels and the whole economy of the world will change. If we keep building without landscaping, our cities and buildings will become increasingly synthetic, inorganic and artificial.' Architects' and developers' failure to increase organic life in cities has meant new buildings continue to consume more energy, claimed Yeang. He said: 'I wouldn't say [developers] are ignoring the benefits, they are not aware of them.'
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