Active architecture: Active architecture is grounded in the idea that the design of the built environment can have a crucial and positive influence on improving public health. Just as architecture and urban design were crucial to defeating epidemics such as cholera and tuberculosis in the past, environmental design will be an essential tool in combatting the most pressing public health problem of our time – obesity and its related chronic diseases. The ‘five Ds’ are key to analysing the relationship between urban design and travel patterns for active design: density, diversity, design, destination accessibility, and distance to transit.

Adaptable architecture: The in-built ability to adapt and adjust to change for different uses and users, allowing different spatial and functional configurations without significant disruption.

Active House: The Active House standard is similar to an energy-plus house in that it generates more energy than it consumes. An Active House has three guiding principles – comfort, energy and environment – with a vision that buildings create healthier and more comfortable lives for their occupants without negative impact on the climate.

Active systems – see also passive systems: Active design strategies rely on ‘active systems’ such as boilers, water heaters, electrical fans and artificial lights that use energy to deliver heating, fresh air, cooling and light. They can also be systems that produce energy on site, such as solar panels. The use of active systems must be minimised by use of passive systems.

(Adaptive) reuse (transformation): Reuse is an approach to building in which a material, product or building is used more than once for its intended or new purpose. Similarly, adaptive reuse of a building is the reuse of an existing building for a different purpose than it was initially built for (achieved through adaptation). Alternatively, material reuse is the use of reused and recycled materials for a new purpose. Different types of material reuse include spolia, recycling and upcycling.

Airsource heat pump: see heatpump

Airtightness: A leaky (non-airtight) building means that uncontrolled air movement through the envelope leads to considerable heat loss, which increases energy demands and may lead to uncomfortable draughts for building occupants. Be careful not to equate airtightness with poor ventilation and ‘stuffy’ internal conditions. Good background ventilation is required, but it must be controlled. Acceptable standards of air infiltration (m3/m2hr or air changes per hour).

Albedo: The percentage of solar radiation reflected by a surface, using a scale of 0–1. As a rule of thumb, the lower the percentage the darker, and the higher the percentage the lighter. That is, the closer to 1 (or 100%), the better the surface is at reflecting the incident radiation and keeping surfaces cool. [1]

Altitude (or height): A distance measurement in the vertical direction often used in relation to solar paths. It is measured between a reference datum (distance above sea level) and a point or object. [2]

Anticipatory (proactive) adaptation: Adaptation that takes place before actual climate change impacts occur. Such adaptation is a preemptive measure to prevent or to minimise potential climate change impacts. It weighs up the vulnerability of natural and (hu)man-made systems as well as the costs and benefits of action versus inaction. [3]

Aspect: Refers to the number of different directions in which windows face – e.g., single aspect means in one direction, and dual or double aspect means the windows face in two different directions.

Autonomous (spontaneous) adaptation: Adaptation that does not constitute a conscious response to climatic stimuli but is triggered by ecological changes in natural systems and by market or welfare changes in human systems. [4]

Autonomous buildings: A type of self-sustaining architecture, autonomous buildings strive to reduce environmental effects by using contextual resources such as sunlight and precipitation, creating energy-efficient and therefore cost-effective buildings. They are designed to operate off-grid from infrastructural support services, generating or providing their own water, waste and sewage treatment, stormwater, electricity, and heating and cooling, as well as food production. Advantages of this approach are reduced environmental impacts, increased resource security, and lower ownership costs and, unlike other off-grid approaches, it endeavours to look like conventional housing visually.

Azimuth: The angular measurement, usually of the sun, measured clockwise from the north point of the horizon to the point where the horizon would intersect a vertical plane going through the sun and the observer.

Background ventilation: Continuous ventilation at a low rate to remove pollutants and humidity from spaces while also supplying fresh outdoor air into the building. [5] For reliable year-round background ventilation, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is usually used.

Benchmarks: Benchmarks are standards, parameters or targets which you can use at the design stage against which to map aspirations and targets, e.g., about density of development, or a target for embodied energy and energy in use, or water use. Often benchmarks are based on regulations and the actual performance of several monitored buildings. In architecture practice, once a building is built and in use, the actual building’s performance can be compared to the initial benchmarks set to see if the aspirations were met (and if not, to investigate why not). [6]

Bioclimatic architecture - see also Tropical architecture: This approach is about the design of buildings based on local climate and environmental conditions. It has a connection to nature, utilising passive strategies (e.g., natural ventilation, sun protection) to provide optimal thermal and visual comfort, and making use of solar energy and other environmental sources while avoiding complete dependence on mechanical systems.

Bionic architecture: Bionic architecture studies the physiological, behavioural and structural interpretations of biological organisms as a source of inspiration for designing and constructing visually expressive buildings. These buildings are designed to be technologically responsive, modifying themselves in response to the changing internal and external forces such as weather and temperature.

Biophilia/Biophilic design: Biophilic design aims to improve health and wellbeing through occupant connectivity to the natural environment using direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions that connect to outdoor environments visually and physically. This approach applies at both the building and the city scale, with health, environmental and economic benefits for building occupants and urban environments, potentially also enhancing biodiversity through green infrastructure provision.

Biodegradable materials: These are materials that can be decomposed by bacteria or living organisms in a fairly short period of time.

Biogenic materials: materials or products that absorb more carbon dioxide than they release – they store carbon and lower the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Also called carbon sink materials or materials that sequester carbon.

Biomimicry (biomimetic, biomorphic design): Biomimicry seeks solutions for architecture from nature through examining its models, systems and processes for inspiration to solve human-made problems. It strives for ecological principles and restorative impacts rather than stylistic forms or codes. It often includes innovative and untested solutions.

Bioremediation (also called phytoremediation): A biological process that uses plants, algae and microorganisms to reduce and break down the pollutants (usually in-situ) and can be used to remove pollutants from the site over several weeks or months. [7] Bioremediation is considered a technology that also preserves biodiversity and protects human health while restoring the ecosystem at low cost. [8]

Bioshelters (biospheres, life-shelters): Bioshelters are an early attempt at sustainable architecture and combine housing, ecological design and solar greenhouses, which are designed to contain and nurture an ecosystem within, i.e., blending solar, wind, biological and electronic technologies with housing, food production and waste utilisation in an ecological and cultural context. Not to be confused with Earthships.

Bodystorming: A method of researching through the use of one’s own body to physically experience a situation in order to gain insight and form ideas. This may be used to get a better understanding of a user group, an experience or a situation.

BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method): BREEAM is one of the longest-established methods of certifying, assessing and rating the sustainability of buildings. BREEAM is popular in the UK and uses ‘scientifically based sustainability metrics’ to evaluate categories which include energy and water use, health and wellbeing, pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecology and management processes. More than half a million buildings have achieved BREEAM certification, which uses a scale of ‘Pass’, ‘Good’, ‘Very Good’, ‘Excellent’ and ‘Outstanding’. Some argue that it is not ambitious enough and mainly encourages mainstream practices rather than innovation.

Brownfields: Brownfields are areas of obsolete land that is often urban and have previously been used for industry or commercial use; they are often environmentally contaminated with pollution or hazardous waste. While brownfields require considerable cleaning and decontamination, they are viable building sites as the land has previously been developed and is usually near infrastructure. Additionally, new restorative strategies can have environmental and social benefits. If the brownfield has been left alone for years, it can often hold high ecological value with biodiverse species left to thrive. Therefore, it is important to value and ensure minimal disruption to the existing ecological system.

Building performance monitoring and evaluation (BPE): BPE is more comprehensive than POE, and is undertaken at any point in a project’s cycle, but preferably throughout design, construction and building operation. It involves observations and qualitative feedback from occupants relating to comfort, functionality and wellbeing, alongside energy consumption and indoor environmental quality data. The evaluation of a project’s resource consumption, including embodied carbon, material impacts, climate-change resilience and life-cycle costs are also increasingly considered. [9]

Carbon sink – see Biogenic materials.

Carrying capacity: A term that describes the maximum population load that the environment can sustain (to provide food, water or resources).

Charrette: An intense public meeting or workshop to solve a design problem or plan the design development.

Circular design: Circular design focuses on creating products/services/buildings for the circular economy, which is committed to reusing products and abandoning the paradigm of using and throwing away.  The key lies in rethinking the process from the beginning, so that matter, like biological processes themselves, have a regenerative life cycle for the sustainability of the planet, i.e. it becomes useful repeatedly by being repaired, reused, recycled or transformed.

City as National Park: The National Park Foundation aims to make cities National Park Cities. The approach is based around living more in harmony with ourselves, our communities and our planet. It aims to better connect people, nature and wildlife in cities where all citizens enjoy clean air and high-quality green spaces and clean rivers.

Climate Change Design/Climate Emergency Design: a design process (and resulting designs) that equally consider and addresses all holistic themes and issues related to climate change and the climate emergency. See Climate emergency design background.  

Climate Emergency: a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.

Cooperative design, co-design, co-creation, co-production – see Participatory design

Combined heat and power (CHP): The principle of CHP is that a fuel (e.g., gas, biomass) is burned to create electricity locally to a building or neighbourhood, as opposed to electricity being generated at remote power stations. In this process more heat is created than electricity, and this heat can then also be used in buildings. This is a significant difference from conventional power stations, where most of the heat is exhausted into the local air. Another benefit is that the electricity supply is decentralised and may offer better resilience against national shortages. Moreover, CHP systems are only suitable for buildings that require a lot of heat (e.g., swimming pools, elderly homes). Gas-powered CHP plants are no longer feasible in a climate emergency. Biomass fuel could be used, but only if it is available as a waste product from a local supply chain; this is because burning wood is polluting and is no longer considered sustainable in most cases.

Column-slab or column-beam-slab structures: These are superstructures where the load of the slab is transferred to columns or walls through the slab or through beams, and into the foundations.

Conceptual design: This can have two meanings, with one being the early stages of a design process in which initial ideas are created. Within architecture, the second definition can often refer to designs which are based on a conceptual idea rather than a contextual foundation. In sustainable architecture, concepts should be grounded in contextual research, referred to as contextual design concepts.

Contextualism, contextual design or place-based design: This takes into account the multi-layered environment where the design project is located and uses it as the foundation of a design process. This may include a variety of issues and perspectives such as social, environmental and architectural matters.

Cradle-to-cradle (C2C): C2C is a biomimetic approach to designing cities, buildings, products and systems that influences nature’s systems and processes. It utilises the concept ‘waste equals food’, reframing the model from ‘cradle to grave’ to ‘cradle to cradle’, in which life and future generations are considered. Materials are considered as ‘nutrients’ that circulate in healthy, safe, closed, metabolic, technological and biological cycles within this approach. Additionally, C2C supports renewable resources, biodiversity and social equality. Related to materials, they are renewable or recyclable materials that can be upcycled in continuous biological and technical production loops which eliminate waste.

Cross-ventilation: This is wind-driven ventilation that allows the intake of cool air to replace warm stale air where several windows on opposite sides are opened. Remember that doors will block the flow of air unless it is acceptable to leave them open during ventilation or provide a ventilation path above them.

Democratic architecture: Democratic architecture deals with issues of ethics and politics, promoting democracy and empowerment to include marginalised groups and communities. It relates to participatory processes that utilise democratic processes to engage in design that includes all areas of the community and society. This approach aims for an organically unfolding process, especially to create ownership, empowerment and flexibility. In the words of Jane Jacobs: ‘Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because and only when they are created by everybody.’

Design for disassembly (DfD), design for deconstruction: DfD is a circular, closed-loop design concept which proposes new structural systems that consider the project’s entire life cycle. Buildings become material banks consisting of reusable components. That means there’s a way to reuse or recycle every component of a structure using existing or future recycling streams. DfD ensures the salvageability of components and aims for prefabrication, pre-assembly and modular construction; reversible connection details and building systems; minimised parts and materials; ease of disassembly; flexibility and adaptability and reusable materials. DfD is defined by its systematic dismantling, which enables time- and cost-efficient disassembly of its elements in the future. You should consider this demolition scenario at the beginning of the design process when developing a general model for a sustainable building

District/community heating: Generating energy closer to where it is used reduces transmission losses. This can be achieved with community, neighbourhood or city district heating, which provides heat from a central source to one or many building blocks via its own well-insulated heating pipe network. Ideally there is a steady supply of heating needed for buildings that are spaced closely together to minimise distribution losses and costs. This means mixed-use developments are ideal, at 55–100 dw/ha density. Dwellings do not require individual heating systems, but typically have a heat exchanger in a technical room that supplies space heating and hot water, with separate heat meters (required under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive).

Diurnal temperature variation: The difference in temperature between the daily high and low temperatures; usually refers to the difference between day and night temperatures.

Downcycled materials – see also upcycling: These are materials that are reused to create a new material or product of lower value or quality (i.e., downcycling; for example, crushing concrete structure to become gravel for paving).

Dual aspect – see Aspect.

Durability/robustness: This design approach focuses on the durability of the building fabric’s elements to result in a long-lasting building. This approach depends on its context and time frame, but it has the quality of ‘staying around’ or ‘approaching permanence’. The idea is that a robust building will withstand, or even benefit from, adverse conditions caused by the climate, landscape and use, achieved through the robustness of the form, structure, function and aesthetics.

Earthships (biotecture, earth-sheltering): A self-sufficient building approach that uses passive solar design (see above) to reduce space heating energy and costs. Large south-facing (north in the southern hemisphere) windows capture the free heat from solar gains, while the north (south in the southern hemisphere) side is covered by earth (or dug in) to use the Earth’s thermal mass to balance temperature variations between day and night, supplemented by an insulated fabric (often recycled materials). Earthships are usually located in rural areas, and tend to integrate well into the landscape.

Earth tubes: Earth tubes provide fresh air by drawing in air from a pipe buried in the earth. The earth’s constant subterranean temperature (10–20°C at a depth of 1.5–3.0 m) is used to moderate the air temperature. This provides cooling in summer and some base warmth in winter

Eco-tech architecture: Eco-tech design is a combination of ecology and technology, combining nature with human-made strategies in architecture. Eco-tech buildings act as a part of a broader ecosystem, maximising the use of the local natural elements (sun, wind, water, groundwater, plants) with technology. Technology is used in parallel with nature to exploit environmental resources.

Eco-aesthetic: Eco-aesthetic is an approach to sustainable architecture that focuses on sensorial and aesthetic concerns through the use of iconic expressions and metaphorical representations of societal values and the natural and non-human world.

Embodied carbon: the carbon footprint of material, calculated as multiplied embodied energy by the carbon intensity of the fuel used in production and construction, expressed in kgCO2/kg.

Embodied energy: the energy used to produce materials and construct the building; all the energy resources spent in the extraction, manufacture, transportation and assembly, expressed in MJ/kg.

Energy-plus house (net-positive design, plus-energy house, efficiency plus house), Passivhaus Premium: An energy-plus building builds on Passivhaus and ‘zero energy’ approaches, producing more energy from renewable energy sources annually than it imports from external sources. Similarly, the above approaches are achieved through on-site micro-generation technology and passive strategies, such as passive solar building design, insulation, and careful site selection and placement.

Environmental remediation: This deals with the removal of pollution or contaminants from soil, groundwater, sediment or surface water. Remedial action is generally subject to regulatory requirements.

Evaporative cooling: This is most suitable in a hot-dry climate, where a reduction in temperature results from the evaporation of water over a body of water, or parks and trees. This process, where heat is turned into a liquid which removes latent heat from the surface, is also used in cooling systems.

Fifteen-minute city: This urban approach promotes a local way of living, by designing cities in which residential areas and essential urban services (e.g., schools, shops, health facilities) are accessible within 15 minutes by cycling or walking. Several 5-minute neighbourhoods together make up the larger 15-minute city structure

Fit for purpose: This means that a building, material or space is good enough for its intended use and the users, now and in the future.

Flexibility/adaptability/future-proofing: This approach also focuses on the creation of long-lasting buildings by considering their flexibility to accommodate the changing context (e.g., climatic or demographic changes) and possible changes in their performance or use. A flexible building is defined as one that can be efficiently used while evolving over time, and enables future-proofing to avoid significant (and often costly) changes later on. In this approach, multiple future scenarios are used to create flexible and adaptable architecture (e.g., scenarios of possible functions, modes of use, layout alternatives, volumetric extensions, plug-in elements, add-ons).

Flooding – see Pluvial and fluvial flooding

Footprint (carbon, energy, ecological, etc.) – see also handprint: This expresses the negative impact an individual or a population or a building has in terms of energy use, carbon pollution and other ecological impacts (waste production, water, etc.).

Genius loci: Defined at the spirit of place or the particular atmosphere of a certain place; it focuses on the unique identity of a place and its local natural systems, landscape and environment.

Geopolitics: the power relationships across and between geographic regions.

Greenfields: Greenfields are undeveloped sites that have previously been used for agriculture or forestry and, in some instances, are ‘untouched.’ They usually have little contamination and are located on the urban fringe or rural areas. While these sites are ‘easy’ to develop, given that decontamination is not required, they often lack key infrastructure such as water, waste, transport and energy services, and should be considered a project site only if vital for a sustainable project.

Greyfields: Greyfields are often sites of economic obsolescence, such as failed retail or commercial areas. As the name indicates, they are usually covered in large areas of empty asphalt and are between brown and greenfields in terms of contamination. Greyfields may allow for reusing developments and existing buildings, or the harvesting of materials for reuse.

Ground-source heat pump (GSHP) – see also heatpump: A heating or cooling system for buildings that transfers heat to or from the ground and into or from the building.

Handprint (carbon) – see footprint: In some countries the concept of a carbon handprint is used to express the carbon benefits if there had not been a construction project, for example by storing carbon in materials such as wood, or by surplus renewable energy production. [10] A carbon handprint is a negative number but is not deducted from a building’s carbon footprint.

Healthy materials: Healthy materials focus on the health and wellbeing of users, ensuring that the specification of materials supports health and wellbeing and does not create toxic environments during manufacturing, in the natural environment or when users are exposed to the building. This approach often focuses on insulation materials, finishes and the treatment of materials, which can off-gas harmful chemicals during the production process or when in use, and therefore could contribute to sick building syndrome.

Heat pump: A heat pump extracts heat from one location (the ‘source’, e.g., the ground, water or air), upgrades the heat and then moves it to another location (the ‘sink’). The sink is typically a water-based radiator or air heater. The electrical energy used for the pump can be met by a renewable energy source such as a PV panel. Heat pumps are an efficient technology because they harvest freely available heat and top it up to the temperature required.

High-tech green, techno-centric: High-tech green blends engineering and architecture to express further the ‘bones’ or structure of a building. These buildings are techno-centric, believing that technology can solve environmental problems; however, this is often not achieved

Hurricane, typhoon, tornado, cyclone: Hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones are the same, and are strong storms that form over water; hurricanes happen in the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons in the Northwest Pacific and cyclones in the South Pacific and Indian oceans. A tornado is smaller in size and is a strong wind that forms over land, typically characterised by a twisting funnel-shaped cloud.

Inclusive design (user-centred design): Inclusive design aims for space or buildings to be used and accessed by as many people as possible regardless of age, gender and disability, for example. The design area extends beyond the building to include surrounding open spaces, wherever people go about their everyday activities. The process should involve potential users at all stages of the design process, from the design brief and detailed design through to construction and completion. Inclusive design principles include responsiveness, flexibility, convenience, and being accommodating for all, welcoming and realistic. Radical inclusivity is when spaces can be used by different human and non-human users at different times and for different uses.

Indoor air quality (IAQ): This refers to the air quality inside, affecting the health and comfort of building occupants. Common indoor pollutants are:

• Microorganisms (fungi and moulds) are often visible on surfaces and release spore particles into the air. They often grow in warm, wet and poorly ventilated environments such as bathrooms.

• Particles (viruses and pollen) are usually introduced from exterior environments by people or

• ventilation systems. They can affect health as a result of inadequate ventilation or air circulation.

• Carbon dioxide is another contaminant formed by users exhaling, or in some situations originating from tobacco smoke or household appliances.

• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) see Glossary, which are most commonly formaldehyde, may be released (off-gassed) from building materials and furniture.

Indoor environmental quality (IEQ): most simply described as the conditions inside the building; this refers to the quality of a building’s environment in relation to the occupants’ health and wellbeing. It includes air quality, but also access to daylight and views (visual comfort), auditory comfort, olfactory (smell) comfort and thermal comfort. It also can include spatial comfort (e.g., whether there is easy access and sufficient space). [11]

Insulation: A material that has excellent thermal resistance to heat flow and slows down the heat flow between inside and outside. It helps to maintain thermal comfort and protects against cold and heat transfer.

Integrated design: This is the integration of all sustainability aspects (i.e., the 10 climate emergency design themes) at all the stages of the design process as a unified whole. Integrated design is crucial and fundamental for a successful, well-integrated and holistic sustainable project. It is often said that ‘sustainability’ is too expensive and is removed when budgets are cut at the end of the design process; however, this is not true for well-integrated projects. It is tough to remove (i.e., value engineer) ‘sustainability’ when it is at the core of your design. Additionally, passive resilience principles such as considering orientation have very little – if any – cost but have a significant impact on the performance of your building. Therefore, your approach to climate emergency architecture needs to be integrated into all aspects of the design process. It is conceived in the first two steps of the design process, i.e., contextual research and conceptual design.

Iterative design or (design) iterations: Design is a self-critical and self-reflective iterative process; this means that you repeat it by going back to improve and refine the design to ensure it meets the intended vision. You can also go back and forth between different steps to refine your design.

Interstitial condensation: This typically occurs when internal warm and moist air condenses against a cold surface within a construction build-up when it permeates through the building fabric to the outside. If the temperature drops sufficiently when the air moves through the construction, the dew point may be reached within the fabric and condensation will occur, i.e., liquid water forms within the fabric. This can damage the fabric and cause health and wellbeing issues. [12]

Latitude: The angle measured from the centre of the Earth to the Earth’s surface in a plane perpendicular to the equator. Latitude ranges from 0° at the equator to 90° (north or south) at the poles. Lines of latitude run east–west in circles parallel to the equator.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): LEED is a green building certification programme developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) but is used worldwide. It operates on a points system distributed across six credit categories: ‘sustainable sites’, ‘water efficiency’, ‘energy and atmosphere’, ‘materials and resources’, ‘indoormenvironmental quality’ and ‘innovation in design’. LEED uses a scale system to certify buildings, ranging from certified, silver and gold, to the highest – platinum.

Latitude: The angle measured from the centre of the Earth to the Earth’s surface in a plane perpendicular to the equator. Latitude ranges from 0° at the equator to 90° (north or south) at the poles. Lines of latitude run east–west in circles parallel to the equator.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design): LEED is a green building certification programme developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) but is used worldwide. It operates on a points system distributed across six credit categories: ‘sustainable sites’, ‘water efficiency’, ‘energy and atmosphere’, ‘materials and resources’, ‘indoor environmental quality’ and ‘innovation in design’. LEED uses a scale system to certify buildings, ranging from certified, silver and gold, to the highest – platinum.

Life-cycle assessment (LCA): A methodology to evaluate products’, materials’ and buildings’ environmental impacts at all stages of their life cycle. It includes resource use, pollution, waste, and toxicity to air, water, land, humans and ecology, as well as energy and carbon used for extraction, transportation and manufacture, maintenance, demolition, recycling, waste disposal or deconstruction and reuse. You can use LCA tools to help you in your design.

Life-cycle cost (LCC) analysis: A methodology to assess the financial implications of material, product or building performance at all stages of their life cycle. LCC can estimate the cost of the future dismantling and reuse of building elements and the potential financial gains. This is alongside the cost of the building’s construction and operation (i.e., the cost of extraction, transportation, production and construction, maintenance.

Low-impact materials: building materials with reduced environmental impact, e.g. natural or reclaimed materials.

Low-carbon materials: These are materials that do not lead to significant amount carbon emissions. Ideally, they are also low energy; for example, if steel is manufactured in a wind turbine-powered factory, that steel will have low embodied carbon, but will still have high embodied energy due to the high operating temperatures required to produce steel. The carbon intensity is calculated by multiplying the embodied energy with the carbon intensity of the fuel used in production and construction, expressed in kgCO2/kg.

Low embodied-energy materials – see embodied energy and low-carbon materials.

Material banks: Repositories or stockpiles of valuable materials that might be recovered. [13] For example, deteriorated, abandoned buildings or other existing structures can be reused or serve as sources of building materials.

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR): A continuous, year-round mechanical ventilation method that extracts stale and humid air and recovers some of this expelled heat when providing fresh, filtered air. This minimises heat loss and supports health and wellbeing.

Mitigation: The action of reducing the severity, seriousness or painfulness of something – in this case, climate change.

National energy supply networks: In some cases the best or only option is to use energy from national networks. Many countries are now phasing out gas supply networks to many building types, and electricity will become the only national energy network. This means that space- and water-heating systems should focus on electrical systems. Generating electricity or heating energy on site should be considered alongside utilising national energy supply networks.

Natural materials: These materials are found in nature, such as earth, stone, straw, thatch and clay. Not all of them are renewable (i.e., they are finite) and not all have minimal impact. For example, if stone is mined, it is not renewed over time, and it also requires large amounts of energy for extraction and transportation and has significant ecological impacts from mining

Natural ventilation: The use of wind and temperature differences to create air movement to bring fresh air inside, and to expel hot, humid and stale air. During wintertime this leads to significant heat loss and discomfort, unless background ventilation is provided with MVHR.

Night cooling: This refers to night-time natural ventilation or night purging, especially to expel excess heat and cool the building, and is always fundamental with the use of thermal mass in summertime. It is only effective in climates with a sufficient temperature difference between day and night (minimum 8°C).

Net zero carbon: A net zero carbon building is a building that is highly energy efficient and fully powered from on-site and/or off-site renewable energy sources, with any remaining carbon balance offset.

Nudge architecture: Architecture that encourages different behaviour (e.g., taking the stairs, cycling, accessing the outdoors). Nudge architecture is a new approach to behaviour, design and wellness, utilising architecture’s ability to affect human wellbeing. It uses new ideas of rational choice theory and behaviour economics to explore how architects can ‘nudge’ (i.e., encourage) people towards healthy action through the built environment. Designs can make healthier choices easier or reduce negative actions by increasing their difficulty. In this approach, people are active agents rather than passive experiencers.

Off-gassing: The release of toxic fumes from some materials and furniture, often VOCs (e.g., formaldehyde), affecting health and wellbeing and contributing to sick building syndrome.

Operational energy: the energy needed to run buildings, i.e. to heat, cool, light, ventilate and power them. Typically measured in kWh/m2year.

Operational carbon: the greenhouse gas emissions due to building energy consumption- the carbon dioxide and equivalent global warming potential (GWP) of other gases associated with the in-use operation of the building, over its lifecycle. Typically measured in Kg/CO2/m2year.

Organic architecture: Organic architecture promotes harmony between human habitation and the natural world. It aims to be well integrated and sympathetic to the natural context and the functions of the users; therefore, buildings, furnishings and surroundings become an interrelated composition.

Organi-tech: The organi-tech approach focuses on high-tech architecture with biomorphic, organic or ecological elements. However, they are often secondary to utilitarian and practical or technical concerns. Organi-tech buildings often have connections to nature in form or aesthetics only, rather than through their systems and principles.

Participatory design (cooperative design, co-design, co-creation, co-production): An inclusive design process that includes all actors affected by a development in the decision-making. Participatory design is an umbrella term to describe different approaches to actively engaging all stakeholders (e.g., employees, partners, customers, citizens, end users) in the design process. It focuses on the processes and procedures of design to ensure that the outcomes meet the needs and functional requirements of the users. It can include co-design – i.e., where citizens are involved in the co-creation of design or strategic proposals, even helping to build the proposal.

Passive design strategies - see also Active Systems: These make use of the free resources based on the climate of a place. The strategies include natural daylight and ventilation, night cooling, use of thermal mass, etc. A passive design strategy relies on the building design to harness natural elements for ‘free’ heating, cooling, lighting, and the provision of fresh air. Passive design strategies enable you to reduce the building’s reliance on active systems, but there will still likely be the need for certain active systems at specific times of the day or year.

Passivhaus/Passive House: Passivhaus is one of the pioneering concepts for low-energy houses, developed by the Passivhaus Institute in 1996. Popular in temperate or polar regions, it is a mainly voluntary standard for energy efficiency in buildings, with designs making use of passive strategies such as maximising winter solar gains while reducing summer overheating, high standards for insulation (U-values, W/m2K) and airtightness (ach-1 or m3/m2.hr), as well as for appliances and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems. It sets maximum standards for space heating and cooling for the energy needs that still need to be met, expressed as kWh/m2 per year. It has a rigorous certification scheme based on actual energy use.

Passive solar architecture: Primarily uses the sun’s energy for passive strategies and building performance together with the characteristics of a local climate to maintain thermally comfortable conditions. This approach is the foundation for many passive resilient and energy-related approaches.

Patterns of use: The things people do in a space, including what, where, when and for how long. The sum of these activities over a period of time forms the patterns of use for an urban area.

Permaculture: This uses whole-systems thinking to design and maintain agriculturally productive ecosystems through certain design principles. It aims to integrate landscape and people, providing food, energy and shelter in a sustainable way. [14]

Permeable surfaces: Porous surfaces that enable the surface run-off and soakaway of precipitation while allowing it to infiltrate soil, replenishing the water levels in the ground.

Pile foundations: A series of columns inserted into the ground to transmit loads to lower soil levels.

Planned adaptation: ‘Adaptation that is the result of a deliberate policy decision, based on an awareness that conditions have changed or are about to change and that action is required to return to maintain or achieve a desired state.’ [15]

Pluvial and fluvial flooding: Fluvial flooding is flooding from rivers, lakes or streams (i.e., when they overflow their banks onto the surrounding land). Unlike fluvial flooding, pluvial flooding – which is flooding caused by rainfall (cloudburst) – can occur almost anywhere, especially in areas with depressions in the topography and flow paths on the surface, and where there are few permeable surfaces. [16]

Positive impact – see Restorative design.

Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) – see also BPE: The process of obtaining feedback on a building's performance in use; includes both quantitative and qualitative information such as energy monitoring; studies of indoor environmental quality, comfort and building design; surveys or interviews with building occupants and/or facilities managers; and building walk-throughs. [17]

Potable water: Water that is suitable and safe to drink.

Precedent studies or precedent research: The study of other examples or projects to support one’s own design process either in school or in a professional setting, by referencing or reinterpreting and learning from other projects in a new way.

Purge ventilation: This involves the rapid ventilation of rooms or spaces at a relatively high rate to dilute pollutants and/or water vapour or to remove excess heat. [18]

PV – Photovoltaic panels – see Solar energy capture systems

3R strategy (reduce/reuse/recycle): This design strategy treats buildings as resources and reduces the design and construction process to indispensable interventions only to save on the use of materials and embodied energy, prolonging the lifespan of existing buildings and their elements, which can be reused or reusable.

Reactive adaptation: ‘Adaptation that takes place after impacts of climate change: for instance when new building regulations follow a severe bushfire event.’ [19]

Recyclable materials: Materials able to be recycled, broken down and made into new products.

Recycling: Means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances, whether for original or other purposes.

Regenerate/Regenerative design – see Restorative design.

Regionalism and critical regionalism: The concept of place-based design responded to the lack of identity (or appropriateness) of the International Style in relation to different climates and contexts. Critical regionalism strives for architecture rooted in the modern tradition but tied to a geographical and cultural context, mediating between global and local architectural languages. While similar, regionalism is different from critical regionalism in that the latter developed to counter the lack of identity and disregard for context of modernism and postmodernism.

Renewable energy technologies: Renewable energy comes from sources or processes that are constantly replenished. These sources of energy/technologies include solar energy, wind energy, bioenergy, geothermal energy, and hydroelectric power.

Renewable materials: Natural materials that can be easily replenished.

Responsible design: ‘Responsible design’ is a specific approach advocated by the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE). It acknowledges the entanglement of societal and environmental issues and centres around four key principles: (1) integrated design, here meaning comprehensive contextual approaches; (2) energy-conscious design; (3) inclusive design and (4) adaptable, quality design.

Restorative design, positive impact, regenerative design: Often in sustainable architecture we talk of ‘minimising negative impact’ and using resources so as to ‘sustain’ future use. We need to go beyond this, and aim for a positive and restorative design impact. As a fundamental basis, your design project must strive to create a positive impact on the environment by restoring negative consequences not only of the development itself, but of wider societal and climatic effects and climate injustices. It uses whole-systems thinking and integrates the needs of both human and non-humans.

Retrofitting: A process of modifying structures, systems or amenities of an existing building to improve its use and performance, usually referred to for the energy-efficient upgrade of the fabric.

Retention basin: An artificial pond to collect water, preventing flooding and stormwater run-off.

Reused or reclaimed materials: These are materials that can be reclaimed for reuse elsewhere.

Reusable materials: These are materials designed for disassembly (DfD) for reuse elsewhere in the built environment.

Reuse – see also retrofitting: The redistribution of the building, element or material to use it in its current state, reuse it for its original purpose, or to adapt or process it for a new use.

Reversible systems and reversible connections: Reuse systems for existing buildings (i.e., they can be taken apart or ‘reversed’), and new connections and joints should be designed this way.

Reversible quarries: Disused mining quarries that are redeveloped through ecological restoration for human use.

RIBA Sustainable Outcomes Guide and RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge: The RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge outlines targets that need to be met by 2030 for newbuilds and refurbished buildings and 2050 at the latest for most existing buildings. Based on the UN SDGs, the RIBA identified eight sustainable outcomes that all buildings contribute to. It argues that these sustainable outcomes are ‘clear, measurable, realistic, and transparent between expectations and outcomes. They avoid long checklists and unnecessary complexity and address the triple bottom line definition of sustainability – balancing social, environmental, and economic value.’ These eight themes are Net Zero Operational Carbon Emissions, Net Zero Embodied Carbon Emissions, Sustainable Water Cycle, Sustainable connectivity and transport, Sustainable land-use and ecology, Good Health and Wellbeing, Sustainable Communities and Social Value, and Sustainable Life Cycle Cost.

Rules of thumb: Rough and simplified estimates of practical or scientific knowledge. In the early design stages, rules of thumb are good to help inform quick design decisions and test ideas and solutions.

Self-sustaining or off-grid architecture: Self-sustaining architecture provides all the resources for a building with as little infrastructural support as possible while offering resilience and future-proofing against inevitable extreme weather. Self-sufficient buildings are characterised by being independent of public infrastructure utilities to supply their own energy and potable water, as well as managing food, waste and wastewater. Off-grid buildings can be smaller communities or individual buildings but are often residential typologies, located in rural or isolated locations with some exceptions within suburban environments. This is a positive approach for communities that are already remotely placed and have no access to public facilities. However, when buildings are developed on greenfield locations and require subsequent private transportation, this often outweighs their low impact elsewhere.

Sense of place: In architecture, this is about the unique identity and characteristics of a place that create meaning for the people who use it. [20]

Shelterbelt: A windbreak with planting to provide shelter from the wind. (e.g., a barrier of trees and shrubs that provides protection from wind and storms).

Sick building syndrome (SBS): Various symptoms that occur in the occupants of a building. There are different causes for SBS, including substandard materials, maintenance and assembly processes; poor ventilation and indoor air quality (IAQ); CO2 build-up from occupants’ breathing; mould and contaminants from material out-gassing, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from materials, paints, carpets, adhesives, etc.; industrial chemicals from cleaning and office machinery; and – especially for homes – indoor temperatures below 18°C.

Single aspect – see Aspect.

Single-sided ventilation: This is ventilation with windows on only one wall in a room. This is not an efficient form of ventilation, as it is difficult to achieve airflow.

Sixth mass extinction: Often referred to as the Holocene or Anthropocene extinction. It refers to the large-scale permanent biodiversity loss and degradation as a result of human activity during the current epoch.

Smart cities: Smart cities are a technocentric approach, which uses ‘urban sensing’ technology to collect and analyse large amounts of data from various industries and services, such as waste collection or transportation. The complex networks of urban sensors, devices and software are utilised to provide efficient services to solve urban problems – for example, transportation, accessibility, social services and reducing waste. However, this approach requires considerable maintenance and servicing to ensure that the technology is functioning appropriately and that it is user-friendly

Soft Landings: Soft Landings is a framework that aims to improve building performance in terms of energy use and associated carbon emissions, user satisfaction and client expectation, and does this by supporting design

and construction with clear actions for the different stakeholders from the early stages of design to building completion and use (e.g., user involvement in the early stages, creation of a user manual and satisfaction surveys after project completion).

Social infrastructure: This supports individuals and communities to get together in formal or informal ways, increasing wellbeing. It underpins livable cities that consider the community’s needs and supports the connection of people through the design of formal functions (e.g., libraries, schools, community and health centres) and informal spaces that create opportunities to meet in different seasons (e.g., benches in parks and courtyard gardens, walkways wide enough to stop and linger and say hello to neighbours, and so on.) [21]

Specific heat capacity: The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by 1°C. The units of specific heat are usually calories or joules per gram per degree Celsius. [22]

Spolia: Repurposed building material or decorative sculpture for the new construction.

Sponge city: A ‘sponge city’ is an urban landscape that catches, stores and cleans most of the stormwater; it is based on traditional approaches to managing monsoon rainfall. It offers nature-based solutions to climate change in urban environments, including repairing prior damage by replacing ‘grey infrastructure’ (e.g., flood defence walls and road run-off pipes). In China, 80% of the urban land should store or reuse 70% of the stormwater in its sponge cities

Solar energy capture systems: There are three main types of solar collectors used on buildings: photovoltaic (PV) panels generate electricity and work well with green roofs because they are more efficient on a cooler surface and with ventilation under them. Photovoltaic-thermal (PV-T) panels generate both electricity and heat, and are still innovative, while solar thermal panels generate heat only. Generally, solar thermal and PV electrical panels are the most suitable options in urban areas, if an unshaded south-facing roof is available. You can check the ideal solar angle in freely available online solar panel angle calculators.

Stack ventilation: This uses the air pressure created by height to move air through the building, and it may be combined

with a ceiling fan, which can help draw hot air out. As warm air rises, cool air is sucked into the building through openings

Strategic briefing: Part of an ongoing process to define the client's requirements, including user needs, when and how the building and its spaces may be used, maintenance practices, environmental impacts, the client’s vision and so on. [23]

Substructure: The substructure of a building includes the foundations, retaining walls and any basements. These elements are generally formed from in-situ concrete and are both high in embodied energy and difficult to reuse other than by breaking them up as a low-grade hardcore.

Superstructure: The superstructure of a building is all of the elements that hold the building up, and support the floors, roof, the weight of the envelope and any other heavy parts such as stairs. The superstructure can be independent of the walls and floors, consisting of columns and beams, or the walls and floor slabs may be integrated as part of the structure. The design of the superstructure is important in terms of embodied carbon, duration of construction, and adaptation and disassembly of the building over time, and may play a role in the internal environmental strategy by providing thermal mass

Sustainable urban design: This approach focuses on the complex relationship between the natural, social and urban built environment, aiming to foster natural systems and processes in coexistence with the wellbeing of society. It uses systems thinking to reorganise the environmental, economic and socio-economic goals, enhancing the long-term health of natural systems and urban communities. This is often achieved through comprehensive frameworks and new urban design ethics whereby all actors work together in partnership and participatory processes

Systems thinking: The process of a holistic understanding of how systems influence one another and interrelate, and how they work overtime as part of a larger system.

Technocentric or high-tech solutions: Emphasising and promoting the importance or value of technology in the belief it is the solution.

Thermal comfort: an individual’s perception of satisfaction with the thermal environment, usually whether it is (too) hot or (too) cold. Thermal comfort is affected by a combination of factors such as air temperature, humidity, air velocity (draughts), temperature of surrounding surfaces (radiant temperature) and each individual’s metabolic rate and clothing. Thermal discomfort can lead to thermal stress (e.g., exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures), particularly in older people.

Thermal mass: A material’s capacity to store heat. The thermal capacity depends on material density; it balances the temperatures in the building as it absorbs heat from the sun slowly, stores it and gradually releases it during the night. As a rule of thumb, the denser the material, the better its thermal capacity. It is used often within colder and hot-dry climates to moderate day and night temperatures as well as to avoid summer overheating. [24]

Trombe wall: A thermal mass wall, usually around 150–300 mm thick, placed behind south-facing glazing (north-facing in the southern hemisphere), which has shutters to prevent excessive night-time heat loss. Its wall area should not exceed 20% of the floor area it heats. It stores daytime solar gain and releases it back at night when residents can benefit most from the heat. However, it can exacerbate summertime overheating, unless summer solar shading is provided. In winter, cooler air from the room enters at the bottom, and air heated in the Trombe wall is pushed into the room at the top. When the vents are closed at night the wall heats the living space by radiation. Adding exterior insulating shutters to the glazing prevents the heat gained from escaping to the outside at nighttime. In summer the Trombe wall should be complemented with shading devices to avoid the heat entering the building.

Tropical architecture - see also Bioclimatic architecture: Embraces the climate influence of the tropical region in the design of its building. It argues for a local and environmentally sensitive approach and the climatic adaptation of modern design and construction trends, taking into consideration the lifestyle that the tropical climate affords. For example, iron rusts, materials deteriorate and fungi grow faster in the tropics than in temperate countries. Just remember that there are multiple tropical climates, and therefore there should be different approaches within tropical architecture.

Tipping point: A threshold that when exceeded can lead to irreversible changes in the ecosystem (e.g., biodiversity loss, loss of forest, new CO2 concentration records leading to increased average and extreme temperatures, ice caps melting, etc.).

UN SDGs: The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can also be used as a design approach, where UN SDGs 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16 relate to the future and global responsibility theme, which also covers ‘Reduced Inequalities’ (SDG 10), i.e., our global responsibility to ensure that design interventions do not adversely impact people and communities (or ecosystems) thousands of kilometres away. See detailed description.

Upcycling – see also downcycling: A process of transforming waste for reuse and adding value. Upcycling can involve transforming and reinventing ordinary objects into extraordinary architecture.

Urban breaks: Unbuilt spaces and breaks in built fabric that provide sunlight into buildings or spaces behind, improve ventilation and reduce pollution.

Urban climate adaptation: This approach recognises that built and urban environments must adjust and be robust to the impacts of climate change, offering opportunities for a better quality of life and maintaining healthy ecosystems and liveable urban areas. Key climate change events addressed in this approach are storms, flooding, sea-level rise, wildfire, power interruptions, warmer temperatures, drought and water shortage. To design for these, this approach goes beyond important mitigation efforts and includes anticipatory (proactive) adaptation, planned adaptation, reactive adaptation and autonomous (spontaneous) adaptation.

Urban farming (urban agriculture) and continuous productive urban landscapes (CPULs): This approach focuses on growing or producing food in cities or densely populated towns or regions to increase access to locally grown food. Urban agriculture differs from community gardening in that agriculture grows a product to be sold, rather than for personal consumption or sharing. This approach might involve strategies such as vertical farming, rooftop farming, hydroponics, aquaponics, container farms and backyard farms, but it is often combined with other strategies such as permaculture. CPUL aims to join up existing open spaces (used or disused) into an interconnected landscape for food-growing in the city.

Urban heat island (UHI) effect: Urban areas that have a different local climate than the surrounding areas, manifested in lower humidity, increased air pollution, lower wind speeds and higher temperatures by up to 7°C. It is caused by heat generated in urban environments (from people and activities) that is trapped by urban structures and their form and exacerbated by the lack of green spaces. [25][26]

Urban mining: Systematic reuse of anthropogenic materials present in urban environments.

Urban metabolism: A concept in which the biological notion is used for the workings of the city, referring to the internal processes by which living organisms maintain a continuous exchange of matter and energy with their environment to enable operation, growth and reproduction. [27]

Value engineering: The identification of more cost-effective alternative solutions. To ensure that there is no loss of project values in this process, it is important that all stakeholders, such as clients, engineers and end users, all agree and ‘buy into’ the project’s concept, and the project values. Doing so means that when changes need to be made at later stages (e.g., to reduce costs), the key project values and vision will remain intact.

Vernacular architecture (contemporary vernacular, modern vernacular): A type of contextual construction or building that uses local materials and craftsmanship. It is takes into account the culture, climate and resources of the area where it is located and is often designed and constructed without architects. Vernacular architecture is a contextual and locally determined approach in which knowledge and inspiration can be gained from looking at and studying the different traditional buildings and techniques from each region. In contrast, modern vernacular approaches are a twist on vernacular approaches. Rather than romanticising the old, this approach endeavours to take principles of the vernacular such as the relationship to the context, local materials, and passive techniques and combines them with more modern processes utilising modern technology, construction or building techniques

Visual comfort: This includes satisfaction with lighting conditions for different activities, specifically the amount, distribution and colour temperature of light as well as the absence of glare. [28]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): These include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects. Concentrations of many VOCs are consistently higher (by up to 10 times) indoors than outdoors. [29]

Wall-slab system: A construction where the wall element and the slab form a tunnel-like system that is repeated to form a larger structural whole.

Waste stream: The complete flow of material waste from dismantling, maintenance and repairs.

WELL Building Standard: The WELL Building Standard focuses on enhancing health by setting performance standards for design projects developed by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI). It includes 10 aspects: air, water, nourishment, light, movement, thermal comfort, sound, materials, mind and community.

Wind energy capture systems: Large wind turbines are highly efficient, but are normally only suitable for large open areas of land a long way from buildings or outdoor activities. These turbines are noisy and can cause a flicker effect as the sun passes through or reflects off the blades. Smaller, micro-wind turbines may sometimes be suitable for rural project sites, but they are much less efficient. In general, micro-wind turbines on or near buildings in urban and suburban areas are unsuitable due too low, variable and unpredictable wind speeds. This is why a whole-life-cycle carbon analysis should be made before specifying them. Yearly average wind speed should be minimum 5.5 m/s, with no tall obstructions nearby. Local measured wind speeds are usually taken near airports and are typically higher than those in a built-up area, so they do not represent the average wind speed on your site (reduction factors apply).

Wind-tunnel effect: This happens when wind encounters a building or group of buildings in such a way that it changes direction and velocity. For example, near high-rise buildings, pedestrians will feel uncomfortably high wind gusts at the street level due to this phenomenon.

Whole life carbon: (of building or product or service or company) the total amount of greenhouse gases (Carbon dioxide [CO2] and Carbon dioxide equivalents [CO2e]) produced throughout the life-cycle of the building/product/service/company. It includes emissions from energy use (operational carbon) and materials (i.e. embodied carbon, capital carbon)

Whole life-cycle costing (WLC): Life-cycle costing is related to the building and is part of WLC, which also includes non-construction related costs such as land costs (or income). LCC and WLC are important for your design as they look at long-term costs and benefits, informing sustainable design decisions. For example, often the cheapest material is specified, but it might turn out to be more expensive than pricier options once maintenance and replacement over the building’s lifespan are considered.

Zero-energy and zero-carbon (also nearly zero-energy building (nZEB), zero net-energy building (ZNEB), net-zero carbon): There are slightly different terms and sometimes confusing definitions in different regions. The EU uses the term ‘nearly zero-energy building (nZEB)’. Similarly, zero net energy buildings (ZNEBs) are buildings where the total amount of energy used annually is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on site or by other renewable energy sources. Its strategy is to focus on passive and active systems, similar to Passivhaus, to reduce energy demands before energy generation. Usually, maximum fabric standards are recommended either through yearly energy use (kWh/m2a) or fabric standards (airtightness, U-values). If all carbon emissions are offset through renewable energy (either on or off site), it is a (net) zero-carbon building (i.e., zero kgCO2/m2a).