Durability:
A Key Component of Green Building

The house I live in is 220 years old, having survived storms, fires, and droughts and having experienced the emergence of petroleum, electricity, automobiles, plastics, and nuclear power. It has been repaired, enlarged (around 1800), plumbed, wired, gutted, remodeled, insulated, and restored by generations of inhabitants—adapting to meet changing technologies, needs, and fashions. Most recently, this house, which began life without electricity, central heat, or plumbing, was outfitted with wireless Internet access. Through its adaptation, the hewn beech frame, spruce rafters, wide sheathing boards, two chimneys, and dry-stone foundation have all survived, attesting to the durability of these systems and the house they collectively form. It is reasonable to expect that the house will last another hundred years—surviving past the end of the petroleum age.
...

To read the complete article, please login below.

BuildingGreen.com