More shade trees in the built environment would benefit public transport users and contribute to better outdoor climate control at the Valletta bus terminus.

Development that will not endanger lives has become a hot topic in Malta. Poor standard of concrete has been detected in a number of buildings and a call has gone out for stricter standards in the building industry.

Building safe sustainable structures to last their expected lifetime and withstand future challenges is a wide area of concern. It is just one of many important aspects being addressed globally through an international initiative for a sustainable built environment.

Broadening the scope from issues of human safety to creating a truly sustainable built environment (SBE) is no simple venture.

Architects and engineers have been looking closely at the vulnerability of the built environment – and this includes any built structure, whether it is someone’s home or office, a skyscraper, a flyover, a bus terminus or an entire settlement. A discussion on SBE could also refer to entities such as wind farms, a green roof or simply an urban outdoor space.

An international conference was held in Malta last month in preparation for a global SBE event to be held in Hong Kong next year.

The focus of the March conference was on promoting sustainability in the built environment in Europe and the Mediterranean. The conference was organised by SBE Malta, the national chapter of the International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment, which is active in promoting the principles of sustainable development, education and research.

European Commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella cited a circular economy where reuse and recycling become more important, allowing Europe to use its resources more wisely and transform an environmental necessity into an economic opportunity.

Sustainable development minister Leo Brincat commented on how attitudes were changing, as only a few years ago sustainability was still viewed as a hindrance to the development process.

The impacts of buildings extend far beyond their physical boundaries. Not only do operative buildings themselves consume on average 40 per cent of global energy but many environmental problems are caused by the industries that create, operate and discharge waste in the built environment.

Managing a sustainable built environment in the face of future challenges may involve possible design changes, protection of critical infrastructures, review of planning policies and adoption of resilient sustainable agendas by stakeholders.

SBE is about promoting a more rational and balanced type of development toward a more sustainable, clean and just society without compromising economic development and competitiveness.

SBE is about promoting a more rational and balanced type of development toward a more sustainable, clean and just society without compromising economic development and competitiveness

Opening the three-day conference, SBE (Malta) president Ruben Paul Borg listed sensible exploitation of resources in construction, retro-fitting of existing building and safeguarding of open spaces as a few of the many ways in which the organisation’s aims could be achieved. He outlined the need to promote sustainable development while keeping in focus the ultimate goal of reinforcing social justice through environmental sustainability.

President of the iiSBE International, Nils Larsson, spoke on scenarios for action in the built environment to meet the challenge of climate change around the world: “Reduction of quality of life for people in warm areas without appropriate housing is just one predicted impact of climate change. It may come in such a gradual form that we may not take action until it is too late.”

On the other hand, asked Nilson, how would the building sector cope in a future scenario of sudden and severe climate change? He predicted that the value of buildings with poor energy efficiency would plummet.

With the built environment having such a major impact on emissions a radical change in behaviour could see high-performance buildings leading by example.

Bearing in mind a possible future need to relocate certain facilities around the world, such as docks and airports, due to rising seas, another recommendation was to freeze new construction in low-density, unserviced areas.

Alex Torpiano, dean of the University of Malta’s Faculty for the Built Environment, remarked that if proper planning were adhered to then there would not be a need for sustainable development.

He augured that, rather than sustainable development being treated as a separate theme, every aspect should be addressed with the future in mind. Going beyond simplistic definitions of sustainable development would ensure that it was not reduced to a phrase used chiefly for securing contracts without much respect for the actual concept.

Chris Mintoff, president of the Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers, spoke on the major role of adaptation of old properties to today’s uses.

Various international and local speakers presented scientific contributions dealing with materials and structures, spatial planning, strategies for cultural heritage, ener­gy performance and renewables.

During the session on materials and structures, civil engineer Petr Hajek from the Department of Building Structures at Prague’s technical university spoke on optimising the use of concrete for a climate-friendly cement industry: “Structures should be better prepared for the new conditions… they should be resilient. Optimised concrete structures can significantly contribute to reduction of global climate change impacts.”

Planning for decommissioning could make conversion of old industrial buildings and revitilisation of derelict areas much easier according to Cheung Hau-Wai, chairman of the Hong Kong Green Building Council. Hong Kong is a very dense city with sub-tropical conditions, extremely hot and humid in summer.

The city is running out of both reclamation sites and potential landfill spaces but adaptation and reuse of old buildings has become more attractive since a government incentive to waiver planning fees for the change of use of these buildings. At the same time there is public concern over building bulk, density and loss of skyline. Reuse of old buildings is being driven by both economic and social factors.

David Pace, Commissioner for Environment and Planning at the Office of the Ombudsman, spoke of the need to assist civil society in an empowerment process toward a sustainable built environment in Malta, citing a lack of sustainable principles at all levels of administration. He warned about the traditional village centres, which used to be the fulcrum of village life, being taken over by traffic.

A civil engineer from a Portuguese institute for sustainability and innovation in structural engineering spoke on keeping infrastructures at desired levels of performance through European standardisation of quality specifications for roadway bridges.

In Malta there has been a history of fragmentation with building laws falling under different entities. Charles Buhagiar, chairman of the building industry’s consultative council, said the BICC was endeavouring to en­courage trained workers with the expertise to create quality buildings. The council is pushing to introduce new regulations for better building standards.

Building for a resilient future will require strong policies that can shift the industries related to the built environment toward sustainability.

One study carried out in Spain evaluated vegetation in urban spaces by looking at trees on Barcelona’s avenues as a proposed model for the Dominican Republic.

www.sbe16malta.org