Recommendations of the Editorial team
What does living look like on a planet with limited resources? And how can you afford that?
Sustainable living is considered a central promise for a future worth living – hardly any other area links ecological responsibility so directly to people’s everyday lives. But this is where it becomes particularly clear how difficult the path from good intentions to practical implementation is. The traffic light government failed in Germany, among other things, because many citizens did not develop an understanding of more or less practical implementation (heating law).
One of the biggest challenges certainly lies in the existing building structure. Millions of apartments and houses were built in this country at a time when energy efficiency hardly played a role. Insulation, heating systems and building materials often do not meet today’s standards. Renovations are expensive and technically complex. Added to this are rising construction costs and a tense housing market environment, which often makes sustainable solutions seem like a luxury.
Return to natural cycles
The illustrated book “Homes for Our Time. Sustainable Living” shows how sustainable building could be redefined today – if you have “the necessary change” to be able to afford an apartment designed by Sir Norman Foster, for example. But solutions are presented that work with the respective location, the climate and the available materials.
The focus is on exotic bamboo constructions in Southeast Asia, brick buildings in the heat of India and passive houses in Australia; You have to imagine many of the buildings like haute couture, which perhaps doesn’t even “come on sale”, although one thing can be said laudably here: In all the buildings presented, there is a model according to which material extraction is followed by possible return to natural cycles.
Social issues often make sustainable living difficult. Ecologically exemplary new buildings or renovated apartments are often accompanied by higher rents. This always creates the danger that sustainability becomes a privilege for higher earners. If climate protection is to be accepted in the living area, it must be affordable. And must not lead to new social inequality.
