The impact of green building principles in the sustainable development of the built environment

Abstract

Climate change and the exhaustion of natural resources is a topical issue and represents a "to be solved immediately" goal in the development of built environment. The increasing development of buildings affects the natural environment more than any other industrial process. In Europe, the construction sector is responsible for consuming approximately 50% of the natural resources extracted per year, 40% of the energy produced, 16% of the treated water, and also for producing around 36% of the CO2 emissions and 40-50% of the solid waste. Nowadays, specialists involved in building design have to think, more and more, about the strategies toward high performance buildings, and apply the principles of sustainability to find ways to coexist with the natural conditions, conserving natural resources, preventing land pollution, protecting the environment, and reducing energy consumption. This paper attempts to investigate the results of SWOT analyses on two aspects of the implementation of the principles of eco-innovative design of buildings in Romania: technical regulations for design and execution technologies. Then, analysing cases of green buildings design in the world, and their impact on the environment, it is concluded with the measures to be taken into account for the creation of healthy built areas, by applying the eco-friendly principles in all forms of their manifestation, and also with the protection of the environment surrounding.