Alt Text

Durable Buildings

Our ancestors once built for the ages. Their buildings were durable enough to last for centuries, and because they were lovable, they often did. Can we conceive of building that last for a millennium again? Durability is essential to sustainability. This should be considered so self-evident that it needs no explanation. Inexplicably, most so-called “sustainable” buildings today are still built of materials and in configurations that make it unlikely that they will even last a century. It cannot be sustained if it is not durable. Why should there be any confusion on this issue?
Because highly processed materials like aluminum require far more energy to create than less-processed materials like brick. Highly processed materials require more specialized production facilities, so they are likely to be created further from your building site, and hence must be shipped further. They are also less sustainable because when a component fails, if the system is no longer manufactured, then the entire system may have to be replaced. Use highly processed materials only in places where nothing processed less can do the job.

Alt Text

Title Principles

text

Alt Text

Strength vs. Durability

text

Alt Text

Natural Use of Materials

Materials used as they were originally intended by our ancestors can last for centuries; this building of stone, brick & Roman concrete has been here for nearly 1,900 years. But the same materials used as thin veneers become fragile, lasting only a fraction of their natural life. And mass materials like concrete become fragile by the use of steel reinforcement, which rusts when the concrete gets wet and expands, spalling off the concrete and eventually turning it all to rubble, like the bridge in the Strength vs. Durability section.

Alt Text

The Myth of Maintenance-Free

text

Alt Text

Non-Standard Components

text

Alt Text

Material Processing

text

Alt Text

Principle

text

Alt Text

Title Conditions

text

Alt Text

Condition

text

Alt Text

Condition

text

Alt Text

Condition

text

Alt Text

Durable Building Tools

text

Alt Text

Carbon vs. Time

text

Alt Text

Tool

text

Alt Text

Tool

text

Tales & Tools

These ideas support the Durable Buildings foundation of the Original Green. The Tales are on Original Green Stories, while the Tools are in Original Green Resources. Several of these ideas support other foundations as well, so you'll see them listed wherever appropriate.

Search the Original Green Site
Buy the Original Green book on Amazon
Stacks Image 392_4_56
Rather Buy Indie?

Contact Sundog Books at Seaside, which is our favorite bookstore ever!

Speaking

I speak on the Original Green across the US and abroad. Would you like for me to speak (via Zoom these days) at your next event?

Stacks Image 392_4_53
Got an idea?

If you have an idea for a story, or know about work we need to feature...

Subscribe

... to receive periodic Original Green news releases. Here's our full Privacy Policy, where you'll see that we will not share your info with anyone else, nor will we sell it to anyone. All three fields required.


Share
Follow
Home
Origins
Foundations
Nourishable Accessible Serviceable Securable Lovable Durable Adaptable Frugal Education Economy Culture Wellness
Resources
Original Green Scorecard Initiatives Presentations Reading List Quotes Links Tweetroll
Stories
OGTV
Media Room
Bios Press Speaking

© 2021 Mouzon Design, Inc.