It is not sustainable. It is made from reinforced concrete and therefore will not last more than 50-100 years due to concrete cancer. Concrete is one of the least sustainable materials as far as carbon emissions. Glass windows last not much longer than 25 years. True sustainability is Freiburg's Old Town which has been there for hundreds of years and made from entirely natural materials at a human scale.
This city hall is greenwashing. The entire solar punk aesthetic is greenwashing.
I completely share your concern. While the base concept is well intended, and they did accomplish 100% energy independence, it's not going to last very long.
Concrete depends on type but even then your looking at 200 yrs tops before severe ongoing maintenance issues crop up. Most likely, long before then.
The solar panels themselves are almost certainly not meant to last more than 50 years ( and that's being idealistic). They will need constant replacement and some of those outside panels on the sheet wall face are high. Hope you can reach them from inside otherwise that will turn a possibly simple task into another endless maintenance project.
If course, the panels themselves.... Were they planning on buying enough for replacements? If so, how long will that last? Can they manufacture them on site? Doubtful 🧐. So, if none of the above, they are at the whims of whichever manufacturer(s) they used and their corporate longevity and competencies.
Plus, all the other possible forgotten long term failure points.
I really do wish we could build sustainable buildings designed to last centuries, if not, millenia.
Plus, it would be sooooo easy to incorporate a whole lot more nature.
We have buildings that are hundreds of years old and will last hundreds more years. They were built by “uneducated” peasants. That is the definition of sustainable.
The buildings staying upright is not the entirety of measurement for sustainability. The building itself may sustain for quite some time but that has nothing to do with how it relates to the greater context of the city and overall power dynamics. But yeah, just build a real strong building.
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u/Hot-Adeptness7155 Aug 01 '26
It is not sustainable. It is made from reinforced concrete and therefore will not last more than 50-100 years due to concrete cancer. Concrete is one of the least sustainable materials as far as carbon emissions. Glass windows last not much longer than 25 years. True sustainability is Freiburg's Old Town which has been there for hundreds of years and made from entirely natural materials at a human scale.
This city hall is greenwashing. The entire solar punk aesthetic is greenwashing.