People should always be at the center of architecture. Since it surrounds and influences people, the public should have the opportunity to comment on architecture. "We spend up to 90 percent of our time in buildings, and when we are outdoors, we are usually in an artificial environment such as parks, squares, streets. The emphasis on social sustainability, human health and well-being is therefore key in architectural design,” says Simon Kalvoda, Executive Director of the Czech Green Building Council.
In recent years, the Council has therefore included the impact of buildings on human health and mental well-being among its main topics. The relationship between people, buildings and their surroundings was addressed in the last lecture of this year's Rethink Architecture series, this time with the subtopic People, which the Council organized together with the Center for Architecture and Urban Planning. The lecture gave an answer to the question of how to design buildings and public space that its residents and visitors feel good. The lecture also explained what a "healthy building" actually means and showed examples of how to involve all participants in project planning through participatory design.
"Above all, one must know the needs of those who will use the building or the environment," said Luboš Klabík, an architect of the tečka studio. Using the example of the area in Chabařovice by Lake Milada, he showed how enriching the discussion with the public before the start of work on the project could be for both parties. Social sustainability is also important, which in the opinion of the tečka studio is mainly thinking about the future, how the building or the environment will evolve in time. "One cannot think of just one political term, but of future generations. For example, how a building will be dismantled at the end of its service life,” explained Tomáš Klapka from the tečka studio with reference to the trends in the circular economy and material recycling.
Not only nature nor greenery, but also human should be at the center of designing landscape architecture. Examples were given by Martina Forejtová from the Land05 studio. According to her, it is very important to think of all age categories, for example, playgrounds are used not only by toddlers, but also by older children and their companions, such as parents or grandparents. At the same time, sitting in parks must be suitable for young people, but also for older people. Everyone has different needs. The architecture itself can also address the way how it will be used. For example, for sitting in the park near Vršovice railway station, located next to a school, the studio designed benches with a comfortable sitting on the backs of them, which young people often prefer. At the same time, the benches are very sturdy and are backlit, which discourages homeless people from using them for sleeping.
An example of such architecture, which was primarily aimed at the public, is the Open Garden in Údolní Street in Brno pod Špilberkem. The completion of the buildings operated by the Environmental Partnership Foundation offers features of environmentally friendly construction such as passive standard, heat pump heating, active concrete ceilings for heating and cooling, gray water system, rainwater retention, flow limitation and thus water savings and other technologies.
The author of the project, Štěpán Valouch from the ov-a studio, demonstrated sustainability and historical continuity at the Lasvit headquarters in Nový Bor, the winning building of this year's Czech Architecture Prize. The building with a futuristic look draws on the 200-year-old architecture, while not losing or disturbing the spirit of the original buildings.
So far, only a few developers have been systematically addressing the impact of buildings and their surroundings on human health. One of them is JRD. In its projects the company considers air quality, usually with the help of controlled ventilation with recuperation. Energetically, their current projects are usually in the passive standard and do not only consider insulation, but also shading against the summer heat. The developer, together with the University Center for Energy Efficient Buildings, also deals with the topic of impact noise and composition of floors that effectively prevent it, or, for example, the quality of lighting that is closest to daylight.
A series of five Rethink Architecture lectures, which started in March with a live CAMP meeting but later had to go online as a result of government restrictions, had been watched live by more than 700 people this year and other thousands had watched the recorded video. The speakers were leading architects, landscapers, developers and manufacturers of materials and technologies supporting green construction.
"The aim of the lectures was to draw attention to the huge impact of buildings on the environment and to present a way to reduce this impact. Buildings consume 40 percent of energy in the EU, in the Czech Republic the construction industry produces two thirds of all waste. The construction and operation of buildings cause one third of global carbon emissions," said one of the organizers of the event, Kateřina Eklová. Karolína Barič added: “The architect is already at the very beginning of building or public space projects and therefore has a unique opportunity to influence their sustainability in their conceptual design phase. Therefore, the speakers at our events presented sustainable architecture on specific examples that architects can further use in their practice. We believe that the event has inspired architects, students and investors to design their projects more sustainably."