How much time do we still have to not build sustainably?

- Buildings, although we are often not aware of it, are spaces that consume a huge amount of energy

and in which a lot of material is embedded. That`s why it`s important to set an adequate attitude towards how we build, but also what we intend to do with those objects when they become old or when they are no longer needed for their original purpose - Ana Radivojević, professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture, tells eKapija.

She points out that thinking ahead is key - about the way the object is used, its efficiency in exploitation, as well as about the end of its life cycle.

- What can we do? First of all, let`s design smart. Let`s choose building concepts that include everything we know about energy efficiency today. To choose materials and ways of connecting them so that the elements can be reused later - as segments, as larger units, and in the worst case to recycle them and turn them into some new product. The goal is that as little as possible of what is incorporated ends up as waste. It sounds logical, but, unfortunately, it is not applied often enough - Professor Radivojević notes.

- Linear economy puts us in a situation that 106 billion tons of raw materials are consumed annually worldwide. More resources have been consumed in the last five years than in the entire 20th century. Each of us is aware of how much waste we produce on a daily basis and how much more it is than 20 or 30 years ago. It is unsustainable. The only way forward is a circular economy, in which things are seen in a very different way - where we think about how to ensure that products at the end of their life don`t become waste, but to be reused, once or more, says Professor Milić.

- The aim is to reuse the materials in the same or similar way as before, without major losses in value - he states.

Sustainable construction is not just a marketing term, but a specific set of principles and techniques which aim to make buildings energy-efficient, healthy for life and long-term profitable. In other words: buildings that consume less, pollute less and last longer.

In practice, this means that the orientation of the object in space is already considered in the design phase, natural lighting, ventilation, thermal insulation, but also about the selection of materials - wood, stone, recycled materials are preferred, facades that "breathe" and waste and water management systems. In sustainable buildings, solar panels, heat pumps, rainwater collection systems, sensors for automatic lighting, green roofs and natural cooling systems are often used.

It sounds idealistic, but it is increasingly common in developed countries. In Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada there are laws which practically make it impossible to build new buildings without respecting sustainable standards. Cities such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Vancouver have the ambition that by 2030, all newly built buildings will be "net zero", that means, that they do not emit more carbon dioxide during their lifetime than they manage to "absorb" or compensate.

The situation is still different in Serbia. The majority of residential construction does not go beyond the mandatory technical standards, and sustainable construction is more common in commercial projects.

The three pillars of sustainable construction do not work separately, they are already interrelated and dependent - only in their synergy there is real sustainability.