Experts offer explanation on why green building is future of housing

For its economy and sustainability coupled with growing population and fast-paced urbanization, green building is the future of modern housing, experts have said.

A green building is that building, residential or commercial, that incorporates design techniques, technologies, and materials that reduce dependence on fossil fuels and negative environmental impact.

The experts, who gathered at an EDGE Discovery Workshop organised in Lagos Thursday by GreenSquareMetre in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC), explained that green building has become necessary because they reduce costs of energy, water and materials by as much as 20 percent, hence design considerations have gone beyond space comfort and convenience alone.

Modern architecture and housing developments are also, increasingly, thinking ahead of today to take care of the future of cities and other human settlements.

“Buildings account for about 40 percent of energy use globally and 19 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, the built environment is expected to double due to high population growth and urbanization trends”, Shaninomi Eribo, Edge Expert and Founder/CEO, GreenSquareMetre, hinted in his presentation at the workshop.

Eribo pointed out that most of the growth he hinted about would occur in emerging markets, particularly in middle and low income countries such as could be found in the Sub-Saharan African region of which Nigeria is part.

Chii Akporji, Founder/CEO, Alphacities Africa, had disclosed at another occasion that “50 percent of the world lives in cities today and 70 percent is expected to live in urban areas by 2050”, adding that the world population was expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, about 34 percent higher than what is presently available while growth would be fastest in poor countries like Nigeria.

“Critical infrastructure, especially power, energy and water are still a huge challenge in most cities. Globally, cities account for up to 70 per cent of energy use and much of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These cities also host most of the infrastructure exposed to risk from climate change, requiring them to invest in resilience which includes green buildings.

To move onto a greener development path, Eribo advised that resource-efficient building practices must be introduced and implemented, explaining that green construction offered a chance to secure emission cuts at a low cost and lock in energy and water savings for decades to come.