Architects are creating toxic 'killing machines'

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http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=426 & storycode=3137110 & c=2Architects are creating toxic 'killing machines'27 March, 2009By Marguerite LazellSustainability expert William McDonough warns of over-focusing on carbon neutralityArchitects are creating “killing machines” by not considering the toxicity of the materials used in buildings, America’s leading sustainability expert William McDonough said this week.Speaking to BD on Tuesday at the ParkCity conference in London, organised by Cabe and Natural England, architect and author McDonough said the emphasis on reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions was skewing the sustainable agenda.“I’m amazed there’s so much focus on carbon, yet [architects are still] using toxic materials,” he said. “It’s a nightmare — you’re effectively delivering a killing machine. We have to put as much focus on materials as on energy.”His practice, William McDonough & Partners, has worked on UK projects including the unbuilt National Science Museum in Swindon, and a conceptual design for a new town in Rugby. Science Museum’s Swindon Centre by William McDonough & PartnersAnd he featured in Vanity Fair’s 2008 power-ranking top 100, alongside figures such as Vladimir Putin and Rupert Murdoch.His comments were hailed by some British experts but greeted with caution by the UK Green Building Council.Michael Pawlyn, who worked on the Eden Project while at Grimshaw and is now principal at Exploration Architecture, said: “There is a danger we could get too carbon-focused. We need to move to a closed-loop model, and that’s not necessarily the lowest carbon model. It’s a daunting challenge, it sounds major alarm bells with the coatings industry — paint and PVC are almost inevitably going to end up as pollution.”Technical director of BRE Global Alan Yates agreed. “Carbon neutrality has come to the fore because of government initiatives and protocols from the EU,” he said. “You need to take account of the other issues, and toxicity should be an integral part of that.”David Strong, chief executive of sustainability consultancy Inbuilt and the former managing director of BRE Environment, said the comments echoed what he had been saying for a decade.“It’s great someone as high profile as Bill McDonough has raised this issue, but this is about more than about just carbon and materials,” he said. “Buildings can be zero-carbon but fraught with other problems. It’s the law of unintended consequences — if the air quality in a school is so bad, because it’s so airtight, that all the kids are falling asleep, that’s not a sustainable outcome.”But the UK Green Building Council warned the importance of cutting carbon could not be underestimated.A spokesman said: “Climate change is the priority. We should be very wary of taking our eye off the zero-carbon ball — it’s a global climate emergency.”The UKGBC has also dismissed calls by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors last week for the government to revise its target to make all new homes zero-carbon by 2016.Author and architect William McDonough was a keynote speaker at the ParkCity conference, organised by Cabe and Natural England this week, where he spoke about creating a waste-free society, which he first mooted alongside Michael Braungart in their influential book, Cradle to Cradle.During the conference, Cabe chief executive Richard Simmons and Natural England chief executive Helen Phillips called on the government to make a major investment in greening Britain’s towns and cities.Delegates heard that the cost of widening the M25 — £1.3 billion — would buy more than 3 million street trees, which could save 1.2 million tonnes of carbon.Simmons said: “We face a triple crunch — the credit crunch is masking the energy and environmental crunch.We want urgent investment in green infrastructure in our towns and cities. We’re spending eight times as much on roads as green spaces.”Housing minister Margaret Beckett told delegates the government recognised the value of “green infrastructure”.She also announced a £1 million scheme to fund 60 trainees in green nfrastructure.Postscript :Read more about McDonough on his own website =====In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.