Garden Offices Blog

What is sustainable architecture?

By Steven Willis on 22nd June, 2010

Sustainability is one of the enduring themes of green thinking, and essentially refers to living within ones means, using renewable resources and minimising the impact on environment as a result. When viewed in relation to architecture and building design, the concept of sustainability covers a distinct set of issues, including the materials used in construction, the construction process itself, as well as efficiency and performance levels throughout a building's life cycle.

Decorated Shed garden buildings are developed to take account of sustainability at every possible level.

One of the main materials used in our buildings is Western Red Cedar, which is used as exterior cladding. Chosen for its outstanding appearance, durability and insulating performance, it is also a sustainably sourced material from responsibly managed forestry programmes. The use of Western Red Cedar as an exterior material also helps our garden buildings fulfil another feature of sustainable architecture, in that they fit unobtrusively into their surroundings with complementary natural, organic styles and low impact visuals.

Other elements of Decorated Shed garden buildings that offer sustainable advantages include the panellised wall structure and triple-glazed window and door systems that combine to provide outstanding insulation and energy efficiency. This performance means that our garden buildings need minimal heating and cooling, with a comfortable and temperate interior throughout the year. Lower running costs mean lower fuel usage and lower emissions, making the building as low impact ongoing as possible.

Finally, the build process of a Decorated Shed garden building is another way that the principles of sustainable architecture are achieved. The efficiencies offered by the prefabricated development system dramatically reduce the build time, and the overall time needed on-site for physical construction.

Category:  Architecture and Design