IHT: Europe leads in designing buildings that save energy - by Nicolai Ouroussoff

The wave, modern energy efficient buildings in Almere, the Netherlands

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Europe leads in designing buildings that save energy-by Nicolai Ouroussoff

After more than a decade of tightening guidelines, Europe has made "green" architecture an everyday reality. In Germany and the Netherlands especially, a new generation of architects has expanded the definition of sustainable design beyond solar panels and sod roofs. As Matthias Sauerbruch put it: "The eco-friendly projects you saw in the 1970s, with solar panels and recycled materials, they were so self-conscious. We call this Birkenstock architecture. Now we don't need to do this anymore. The basic technology is all pretty accepted." In the United States, architects cannot make the same claim with equal confidence. Despite the media attention showered on environmental issues, the government has yet to establish universal efficiency standards for buildings. According to some estimates, buildings consume nearly as much energy as industry and transportation combined. And the average building in the United States uses about a third more energy than its counterpart in Germany.