Buildings can be built that use no energy from external power grids. They can be essentially carbon neutral in their environmental load, and they can be built and operated at fair market values. Although this may sound like a dream of the future, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) is working toward making that dream a reality today. The Council announced on March 26, 2006 (Environment News Service) that it is forming an alliance of global companies to ensure that by 2050 all new buildings meet these standards.1The profession of architecture, at the beginning of the 21st century, finds itself in a position where architectural philosophies and methodologies must respond to the world changing events that are impacting our planet. This creative project outlines some of the methodologies used to create a carbon-neutral public library. Within a public library, architects respond to two of the primary concerns of this young century; the global need for a clean, livable planet and the proliferation of digital media and methods that are driving globalization as we are beginning to know it.The proposed new Union Township Branch of the Anderson Public Library seemed a logical subject for this Creative Project because much of the past work of our firm and much of my personal experience involved the design of public libraries. The carbon neutral concepts evolved gradually, after much study, and the goal of this creative project is that this particular library and many other sustainable libraries in the future will benefit from the concepts and methodologies outlined here, as those new buildings approach carbon neutrality. / Department of Architecture
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/188428 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Montgomery, Shirley A. |
| Contributors | Koester, Robert J. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 117 leaves : ill. (some col.), col. maps, plans (some col.) ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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