Sustainable Design Can Save More Than the Environment

Today just about all architects put sustainability near the top of the list of project design goals. Sustainability is on practically every conference agenda related to design, planning, construction and real estate development. But what does it mean to create sustainable architecture?

Dictionaries cite the adjective “sustainable” and the noun “sustainability” only after offering several definitions of the verb “sustain”: to support, to keep up, to keep going, to provide for by furnishing means or funds.

Does this mean that a sustainable building is one with a skeleton that will prevent it from falling down, a building with technical systems that keep it functioning well year after year, or a building with revenue and expenses that continue to meet its owner’s funding and investment objectives?

Washington Post