Europe's Green Building Leadership Has Deep Roots

By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting

On a recent trip to Italy before Thanksgiving, to visit my son studying architecture in Rome, my family was impressed with the “green” culture of Europe. The fact that Europeans are paying close to $6/gal for gasoline certainly has something to do with the large percentage of Smart Cars, hybrids, scooters, bicycles and motorcycles on their streets. But we also saw many gardens on rooftops, window awnings on south facing facades, occupancy sensors in rooms to control lighting, and an excellent use of natural day-lighting in many places. Some say that Europe is ten years ahead of the US in their activities related to environmental matters and sustainable building practices. I would tend to agree.

A recent industry survey of over 600 architects, commissioned by PPG Industries, concluded that architects consider durability to be the most important attribute of a “green” building product. The meaning of “durability” really hit home while I was in Italy. No one could walk away from our tours in Venice, Florence and Rome without wondering how the magnificent structures all around us had been built to last as long as they have.

For example, we saw an original operating bronze door from a temple in the Roman forum ruins that dates back to the first century AD. In several locations we saw original mosaic floors that were close to 2000 years old and looked brand new. In Florence, we saw an original ceiling and wooden roof truss system dating back to 1230 AD. We were surrounded by durable building products that included marble, stone, gold, bronze, copper, brick, mortar, and even ancient concrete.

In the more luxurious structures of the Roman Emperors, we saw an archeological excavation underway since June 2009 that discovered the rumored rotating large dining room table and heated floors of Nero. We learned of aqueducts from the Roman Empire that are still providing water to fountains. There are sewer systems from the first century that are still in use in some places. In Venice we saw a hall that is one of the largest open spaces designed without columns, using an inverted ship hull truss system above the ceiling to provide structural support.

It was truly amazing to see and learn about such advanced construction practices that were used so long ago and are still in place today. It made me think how comical our modern building practices seem when we have to stretch ourselves in designing a building with a 60-year estimated service life. If “durability” is truly important to design professionals in their green building projects we should begin seeing the use of more robust and long-lasting products.

This is an area where the metal construction industry has a good story to tell. Metal has been used for ages as a durable material in prestigious buildings all over the world, as well as for more affordable construction projects. Its proven performance and longevity should be apparent to designers of building envelope components. And to integrate renewable energy technologies/systems using metal as the platform combines the long-lasting track record of metal with the estimated service life of solar or wind energy equipment.

Many often look to California to see trends that eventually move eastward across the country. Maybe it’s time to look to Europe and to our ancestors when it comes to designing and building with metal.

Scott Kriner, MCA's Technical Director, is the president and founder of Green Metal Consulting Inc. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who began his career in the metal construction industry in 1981. His company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). Scott can be reached by email at skriner1@verizon.net, or by phone at (610) 966-2430. You can also visit him on the web at www.greenmetalconsulting.com.  

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