The Natural Building Blocks of Sustainable Architecture | Michael Green | TED

Summary

The speaker, an architect from British Columbia, emphasizes the importance of nature in their work and life. They discuss the environmental impact of buildings, particularly the high carbon footprint of materials like concrete and steel. Advocating for sustainable practices, they highlight wood as a renewable resource and share their firm's commitment to timber-only construction. The speaker introduces 'Five,' a new organic material derived from forests and crops, aiming to revolutionize construction by reducing waste and carbon emissions, promoting a future where buildings are not only beautiful but also part of the climate solution.

Takeaways

• 🌲 The speaker's life is deeply connected to nature and this passion drives their professional work in architecture.
• 🏙️ The architecture firm's mission is to create beautiful, community-serving buildings while minimizing their environmental impact.
• 🌍 The built environment significantly contributes to climate change, accounting for nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• 🏗️ Traditional building materials like concrete, steel, and masonry have high carbon footprints, whereas wood is a renewable resource that can sequester carbon.
• 📚 The speaker authored a book advocating for the use of wood in tall buildings, which has become a mainstream concept in sustainable construction.
• 🌳 Sustainable forestry is crucial for the environmental benefits of using wood in construction.
• 🔄 The potential of wood as a sustainable material is limited and not a universal solution due to global forest threats and population distribution.
• 🔬 The speaker introduces 'Five', a new organic material made from plant fibers and binders, aiming to be a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials.
• 🤖 'Five' is designed to be strong, safe, and eventually cost-effective, utilizing computer modeling and custom robotics to minimize material waste.
• 🌿 The material 'Five' is inspired by natural structures and aims to revolutionize building practices by being more efficient and environmentally friendly.
• 🌎 The speaker envisions a future where buildings use fewer resources, have less impact, and contribute to solving climate change through biomimicry and sustainable materials.

Q & A

What is the speaker's primary passion?

The speaker's primary passion is exploring nature both at home and around the world.

What is the speaker's profession?

The speaker is an architect who works in Vancouver, designing buildings inspired by nature.

What are the two main missions of the speaker's architecture practice?

The two main missions are to create beautiful buildings that serve the community and to reduce the environmental impact of their work on the planet and climate change.

Why does the speaker question the term 'sustainable practice' in architecture?

The speaker questions the term 'sustainable practice' because the built environment uses a significant amount of the world's resources, and most of these resources are not renewable.

What percentage of greenhouse gas emissions do buildings represent?

Buildings represent about 39% of greenhouse gas emissions globally, and almost half in North America.

What are the four major materials used in building structures?

The four major materials used in building structures are concrete, steel, masonry, and wood.

Why does the speaker advocate for using wood in buildings?

Wood is the only material among the four major ones that is a renewable resource and can sequester carbon, potentially leading to carbon-neutral buildings.

What is the title of the book the speaker wrote about tall wood buildings?

The title of the book is 'The Case for Tall Wood Buildings.'

What is the main concern the speaker has about using wood as a sustainable material globally?

The main concern is that sustainable forest practices are not universally practiced, and many forests are under threat, making wood not a global solution.

What is the speaker's vision for a new structural material to replace 'the big four'?

The speaker envisions a new structural material called 'Five,' which is an all-organic material made from forests and crops, strong, safe, and potentially cost-effective.

How does the speaker's concept of 'Five' aim to reduce material waste in construction?

The concept of 'Five' aims to reduce material waste by using computer models to design efficiency into the building process and custom robotics to create uniquely customized parts for each building.

What is the significance of the shape and structure of buildings made with 'Five'?

The shapes and structures of buildings made with 'Five' are organic, resembling branches and nature, which not only reduces waste but also sequesters carbon, contributing to climate change solutions.

Outlines

00:00

🌳 Sustainable Architecture and the Role of Wood

The speaker begins by expressing their love for nature and how it inspires their professional life as an architect in Vancouver. They outline their firm's dual mission: to create beautiful, community-serving buildings and to minimize the environmental impact of these structures. Despite being labeled a sustainable practice, the speaker questions the validity of the term 'sustainable building' due to the massive resources required for construction, especially concrete and steel, which have high carbon footprints. They advocate for the use of wood, a renewable resource that can sequester carbon, as the primary material for construction. The speaker shares their journey in promoting tall wood buildings through their book 'The Case for Tall Wood Buildings,' and discusses the importance of sustainable forestry practices. However, they also acknowledge that wood is not a universal solution due to global deforestation threats and the need for other materials in high-rise construction.

05:00

🌿 The Emergence of Biomimetic Building Materials

In this section, the speaker delves into the concept of biomimicry in architecture, drawing inspiration from nature's structures like trees. They introduce 'Five,' a new organic material made from plant fibers and binders, designed to be strong, safe, and cost-effective. The material is created through a process that involves computer modeling to optimize efficiency and reduce waste, similar to how nature builds. The speaker contrasts traditional boxy structures made from concrete, steel, and wood with the more efficient, rounded forms found in nature, highlighting the waste generated by current construction methods. They emphasize the goal of using minimal resources to create lighter, more sustainable buildings. The process involves combining plant fibers with organic binders and lignin, using computer models for efficient design, and custom robotics for precise material application.

10:03

🌱 Envisioning a Future with Bio-Based Construction

The final paragraph envisions a future where bio-based materials revolutionize construction, moving away from industrial materials towards a more sustainable, nature-inspired approach. The speaker describes the process of creating 'Five,' which involves using robotic forms and fabric molds to customize each structural piece, minimizing waste. The result is a plant-based structure that is not only strong and safe but also beautiful and carbon-sequestering. The speaker calls for a shift in mindset, urging the adoption of biological solutions to meet both human and planetary needs. They conclude by emphasizing the opportunity to live in a world where buildings use fewer resources and have less impact, envisioning a future where we learn from nature to create stronger, healthier communities.

Keywords

💡Nature

Nature refers to the natural world, encompassing all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth. In the video, nature is a central theme as it inspires the speaker's life and work. The speaker's architecture practice is driven by the beauty and principles found in nature, aiming to create buildings that are in harmony with the environment.

💡Sustainable Practice

A sustainable practice implies an approach to business or work that minimizes negative environmental impact and strives for long-term sustainability. The speaker challenges the term 'sustainable practice' in architecture, arguing that traditional building materials like concrete and steel have high carbon footprints and do not truly align with sustainability goals.

💡Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions refer to the release of gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere and leading to global warming. The script mentions that buildings are responsible for a significant portion of these emissions, highlighting the urgent need for more sustainable building practices.

💡Renewable Resources

Renewable resources are natural resources that can be replenished within a human timescale, such as solar energy, wind, and wood. The speaker contrasts the use of non-renewable resources in construction with the potential of renewable ones, particularly wood, which can sequester carbon and contribute to carbon-neutral buildings.

💡Carbon Footprint

The carbon footprint represents the total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly or indirectly by an individual, organization, event, or product. The video discusses the high carbon footprint of materials used in construction, emphasizing the need to reduce it to combat climate change.

💡Timber

Timber refers to wood that has been processed into beams, planks, and similar materials for use in construction. The speaker advocates for timber as the preferred material in their architectural practice due to its renewability and carbon-sequestering properties.

💡Tall Wood Buildings

Tall wood buildings are structures that use engineered wood products as their primary material, allowing for greater heights than traditional wood-frame construction. The speaker mentions their book 'The Case for Tall Wood Buildings,' which promotes the use of timber in high-rise construction as a sustainable alternative.

💡Sustainable Forest Practices

Sustainable forest practices involve managing forests in a way that maintains ecological integrity while providing economic and social benefits. The speaker points out that for timber to be a truly sustainable solution, it must come from forests managed with sustainability in mind.

💡Biomaterials

Biomaterials are materials derived from renewable biological sources, such as plants or animals. In the context of the video, biomaterial refers to the development of a new structural material called 'Five,' which is made from organic components and aims to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional building materials.

💡Carbon Sequestration

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide to mitigate climate change. The speaker discusses how buildings made from certain materials, like the proposed 'Five,' can sequester carbon, making them part of the solution to climate change.

💡Structural Efficiency

Structural efficiency refers to the optimal use of materials in construction to ensure stability and strength with minimal waste. The video describes how the new material 'Five' is designed using computer modeling and robotics to create structures that are efficient and waste-free, unlike traditional boxy constructions.

Highlights

The speaker lives in British Columbia and is passionate about exploring nature.

Nature is a significant source of inspiration for the speaker's creative and professional life.

The speaker works with a team in Vancouver, designing buildings with a focus on community service and environmental impact.

The speaker's architecture practice has two main missions: creating beautiful buildings and reducing their environmental impact.

The built environment consumes a large portion of the world's resources, with a significant carbon footprint.

Buildings contribute to approximately 39% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The speaker challenges the notion of 'sustainable building' due to the high resource consumption in construction.

Wood is presented as a renewable resource and a pathway to carbon-neutral buildings.

The speaker's firm has been a timber-only practice since its inception.

The concept of tall wood buildings has become mainstream in sustainable building practices.

Sustainable forest practices are crucial for wood to be a truly sustainable material.

The speaker is developing a new structural material called 'Five', aiming to replace the 'big four' materials.

'Five' is an organic material made from forests and crops, designed to be strong, safe, and cost-effective.

The development of 'Five' is inspired by nature's structures and modern biotechnology.

The speaker discusses the inefficiencies in current building materials and the need for a new approach.

The concept of 'Five' involves using plant fibers and organic binders to create a solid, efficient product.

Custom robotics are used to ensure each part of a building is made with the exact amount of material needed.

The speaker envisions a future where buildings use fewer resources and have less impact on the environment.

The speaker calls for a shift from an industrial revolution of materials to a revolution inspired by nature.

The speaker believes that by listening to nature, we can solve the dual needs of human requirements and planetary health.

Transcripts

I live in big, beautiful British Columbia,

and my life is fueled by exploring nature both at home and around the world.

In fact, this is from the Himalaya just a few months ago

when I was climbing there.

Nature is a huge part of my life

and it inspires my creative and professional world as well.

I work hard with my team inspired by nature in Vancouver,

designing buildings.

As an architecture practice, we have two main missions.

Our first mission is to focus on making beautiful buildings

that serve our community

and respond to the needs of the people within them.

The second mission we have is focused on the fact

that the first mission has a huge impact on the planet and on climate change,

and we have to work to reduce it.

As a result, our firm is often called a highly sustainable practice,

and the truth is, it really isn't.

In fact, I don't believe that word "sustainable building"

or "sustainable practice"

is really true in most cases.

And the reason is the built environment

uses an enormous amount of the world's resources,

and far too few of those come from renewable resources.

In fact, the vast majority of the material that man makes on Earth

goes into the built environment.

The other challenge with buildings

is they represent about 39% of our greenhouse gas emissions,

or, in North America,

almost half of our greenhouse gas emissions.

For reference, because it's not talked about enough,

all of cars, planes, automobiles, the entire transportation sector combined

represent only about 23%.

So buildings are a huge part of the problem

and not discussed enough.

The reason for that are both the heating and cooling of buildings, of course,

but also the materials that go into buildings.

And when it comes to materials, the buildings' structures,

what holds the buildings up,

really are composed of four major materials

in every city on the planet:

concrete, steel, masonry and wood.

And of those four materials,

three of them have very, very high carbon footprints,

in particular concrete and steel.

Now, wood is the only material on that list

that's also a renewable resource and sequesters carbon.

So it's the only pathway as a material

that actually can get us to carbon-neutral buildings.

And it's the pathway we choose in our practice to build all buildings.

So our practice has been a timber-only practice since our inception

and as part of our advocacy for the use of wood in buildings,

about 15 years ago, I wrote a book called "The Case for Tall Wood Buildings,"

and that book taught the lesson of why we should do this

and how we should do this.

And in the beginning, it was a very unlikely concept

that people had a hard time believing.

And yes, we figured out

that we could have built the Empire State Building

entirely out of wood.

That early idea now is a mainstream concept

around the world in sustainable building practices,

and there are hundreds of tall wood buildings

that have either been built

or are currently under design and construction,

and thousands more to come.

But wood as a sustainable idea is not sustainable

unless it actually comes from sustainable forest practices.

And much of the planet has forests that we actually need to keep standing

as part of our climate solution.

And in fact, lots of the world have forests that are under deep threat.

If we think about where population in the world mostly resides

and where it's growing the quickest,

in fact, most of those areas either don't have forests

or also are aware these forests are threatened.

And so wood, as good a solution as it is

and a solution that I still very much believe in,

is not a global solution.

Most of our cities are still built in those first three materials:

steel, concrete and masonry,

and they have a high carbon footprint.

We're working hard and people are working hard

to make concrete and steel better.

But unfortunately, tweaking those existing materials

is making them only modestly better.

In the case of concrete,

it's estimated they can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete

at best between 10% and 35%.

And that's a long way to go from where we need to be,

either at carbon neutrality in our cities,

or better yet, in carbon-sequestering, carbon-negative buildings.

So how do we get there?

After building about 1.5 million square feet of mass timber

I still believe in that material,

but I keep asking myself this question:

what is the alternative to “the big four”?

And the answer, in my mind without question,

is studying and understanding what's happening in nature

and nature's structures,

combining that with modern biotechnology

and combining that with all of the computer modeling

that allows us to make incredibly efficient structures going forward.

All those things together are creating what we call “Five.”

Five is a fifth way, a new structural material

that will replace, in my mind over time,

“the big four.”

It's an all-organic material made from forests and crops

that can be grown all over the world.

It's strong and safe, and it eventually will be cost-effective

and competitive against any other material available.

Now, this isn't a new idea.

Products made from natural materials, thankfully, are growing up everywhere.

There's a huge industry of biomaterials in academia,

as well as in private business.

And we're seeing new products come online every day.

This community is strong and hopefully getting stronger

and our contribution to it is really focused on this idea

of the biggest material use, which again is the building structure.

So how does it work?

So the idea is based on the same concept

of how a tree works or any other vascular plant.

As we zoom in, a tree is sort of made of lignified tissues

that go from the bottom of the tree to the top,

as are plants.

And those lignified tissues have within them, in cell structure,

cellulose fibers and lignin

that together make the plant strong in order to grow and thrive.

And those two materials,

the fiber in the plant, as well as the lignin,

as well as other binders,

make up the ingredients of what we call Five.

Studying the fibers and how they work in plants

is another part of how we're trying to make this structure.

And if we all imagine cutting through a branch as the image just showed,

we know that nature finds very efficient ways to create structures,

and they're often round like a branch.

But as humans, we tend to make boxy structures.

And the reason we do that is concrete, steel and these materials and wood,

are more efficient when we form them as a box

or when we cut them as a box,

It's more affordable and that's why we see it.

So a typical structure has columns and beams and a slab that make it up,

and they're very boxy forms, as you can see in the image.

Now different structures behave very differently all the time.

This particular structure is an example from a tall building,

but if we were talking about a house, it would be a different structure.

Or if we're talking about a hockey rink, it would be another structure.

So just in this example, how do the forces work?

Well, you have the force of the weight of people

and you have the force of the weight of the building above.

You have wind blowing on the sides or an earthquake impacting it.

The forces, as they press down on this particular example,

in blue are forces of compression. That’s the squeezing forces, pushing down.

And the forces here in yellow are the tension forces,

the pulling apart on that structure.

When we put those together,

we see how the forces move to the ground through this simple frame.

And it's sort of a flowing diagram.

In fact, when we use what's called a structural stress plot,

you can see that the form is very natural in its character.

But as I said, we build things out of boxes,

and when we overlap in our example,

a boxy structure of wood, for example,

we see these areas in red which really are unnecessary.

There wasted material in the current way we build.

In this example, working with our engineers,

we actually calculated that this particular example

would result in about 27% material waste.

Now all buildings are different.

It's very hard to make a sort of overall calculation,

some buildings are more efficient, some less efficient.

But if we multiply this by the amount of building

that needs to be built over the next 40 years for humanity,

it's an incredible amount of human waste.

And poor use of our resources.

So our goal with Five is how do we use as little resources as possible?

And when you use little resources in a building,

you lighten the building up,

and a lighter building actually means that it weighs less on the ground,

and our foundations below the ground can be lighter as well.

So less resources equals lighter buildings equals even less resources.

Taking this idea of how Five can use less,

we took four existing known solutions and put them together.

The first is we take those plant fibers I described

and that can come from trees, that can come from plants, grass, bamboo.

It can come from waste wood products.

It can come from clearing the understory of a forest

to make it less likely for forest fire in places like California.

We take those fibers and combine them with other organic binders and lignin

in order to sort of create a solid product.

And then we take these computer models

that allow us to really design efficiency into the way we build

so we can boil out all that waste.

And then finally, we're going to use custom robotics.

That means that every part of a building,

rather than being cookie cutter and the same and wasteful,

could be just as much material as needed and no more

in order to make the building safe.

Together, that makes something that looks like this.

And again, this is an example.

The flat top is flat because we walk on floors,

but underneath the building looks more organic in its shape,

and as you can see, these beams and columns

feel a little bit more like branches and more like what we see in nature.

As we zoom in even further,

we start to see how it's actually composed.

And you may think in your mind: is this fiberboard?

Is this particleboard, things you’ve seen before?

Well, actually what we're talking about

is a very microscopic layering of these plant fibers

that are just a millimeter long.

By laying them together

and cross-laminating them across each other,

we can customize the way, based again on a structural model,

exactly how the composition of each piece of the material works

in order to make it as efficient as possible.

We combine it with these organic polymers and lignin

and ultimately make this material as strong, dense,

and it behaves much like a tree would.

Now we do that in another unique way in the way the forming works.

Because no pieces of a structure have to be the same

and we want to reduce waste,

we use robotic forms and fabric forms.

The red is fabric that moves in and out

and allows each piece of the building to be completely, uniquely customizable.

And again, we're using it to reduce the waste of the structure.

Now when we put that all together,

it looks like something completely different,

something that none of us have seen before.

It's not like steel, it's not like concrete

and it's not like wood.

Instead, in this example, what you see is an entirely plant-based structure.

It's healthy and beautiful to be around.

Its shapes are not there as decoration.

They're there as just structural essentials,

and yet they're beautiful.

It's safe to be within.

It sequesters carbon,

so it's part of our solution for climate change.

I believe we cannot continue to work with broken systems

and try to make them better.

We have to imagine something next.

We also can't wait for the world's resources to run out

before we imagine a future that's different.

We are no longer part of an industrial revolution of materials.

We are at the beginning of Mother Nature's revolution of materials.

And as a result, we can make much more beautiful environments for everyone.

As I walk around the forest of my home

and I look up into the trees

and imagine what the buildings of the future are,

I imagine that they'll use less resources, they'll have less impact.

They will still make strong, healthy communities for all of us.

But they'll do so more efficiently.

All of these ideas are ideas that already exist.

There's nothing new here.

We have an opportunity to live in a completely biological world.

We just have to decide to do so.

There is a community growing of companies

and products of biomaterials that are available,

and every day there are new materials introduced into the system.

We can and we will solve this combination of human need and the planet's need

at the same time.

All we need to do is listen to nature and let her teach us how.

Thank you.

(Applause)