The fires, especially in the Antalya region, that we have experienced in the last days, showed once again to us human beings that the existing and living nature is much stronger than us. Our people, who become humanistic with a great insatiability, thinking that everything created on earth is for human beings, in fact, while destroying their present, unconsciously enslaves their future to their own helplessness.
The world is faced with a problem that is caused by the rapid and unplanned increase in population and population-oriented settlements, which affects all humanity or will have more severe effects. Global Climate Change.
Global Climate Change is the climate changes that occur as a result of the reaction of global warming caused by greenhouse gases, the amount and density of which increase in the atmosphere as a result of human consumption of fossil fuels, industrial and agricultural activities. These climatic changes include drought, desertification, imbalances and deviations in precipitation, floods, typhoons, storms, tornadoes and large forest fires, etc. manifests itself with symptoms such as increases in events.
According to the Paris Agreement, the average temperature of the world should be no more than 2°C. At the meeting of the Ministers of Environment of the countries that signed the Paris Agreement, held in Naples, Italy last week, the issues of Climate Change, which were brought to the agenda again, and the steps to be taken were discussed again.
While the World Bank warns that with the current rate of increase in carbon dioxide emissions, the increase in average temperatures in the world will reach 4°C in 2060, it predicts that the Mediterranean Basin will be affected the most and exceed 2°C in these impact increases. In other words, the bells are ringing for the countries that have a coast on the Mediterranean.
According to the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) report, the Mediterranean is becoming the fastest warming sea in the world. Rising temperatures are bringing the already heavily human-influenced marine resources to the point of depletion, with dire consequences across the basin.
Ecosystems are changing from top to bottom, natural disasters are increasing. In the satellite images published by NASA over Antalya and Marmaris, we can see the great impact of the fires. This means that perhaps millions of tons of CO2 gas reaching the ozone layer will mean that the climate and related natural events will change more rapidly in the coming days.
The scientific world states that the increase in average temperatures should be limited to a maximum of 2°C in order to minimize the devastating effects of climate change. In order to achieve this target, the CO2 rate in the atmosphere should not exceed 450 ppm.
The Mediterranean Basin, in which our country is located, is one of the most sensitive regions of the world against global climate change. A temperature increase of 2°C in the Mediterranean Basin will have its effects as unexpected weather events, heat waves, increase in the number and effect of forest fires, drought and thus loss of biodiversity, decrease in tourism revenues, loss of agricultural yield and most importantly drought. it will feel.
It is inevitable that there will be droughts and earthquakes with a noticeable frequency due to the change in the precipitation population in the months of October and November ahead.
Afterwards, a heavy rain wave, great floods and destruction will be an expected situation. We must take precautions both as local governments and as individual citizens.
The Global Climate Change Action Plan predicts that Turkey will be significantly affected by adverse effects such as depletion of water resources, forest fires, drought and desertification, and ecological deterioration due to these.
Rapidly increasing temperatures in the world, flood disasters, forest fires, drought and approaching famine etc.
In fact, it points out that we are perhaps the last generation to fight global climate change.
Climate change affects our world much more than the scientific data revealed by scientists. That's why we should plan our cities according to the new climate doctrines.
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest sectors that wear and indirectly pollute nature the most is the construction / building sector. The main reason for this is nature, the main source of the raw material required for the production of building elements.
When we look at the disasters experienced in the world after the world's hottest year recorded in 2016, the transformation in the seasonal population and accordingly flood disasters, large-scale forest fires, marine pollution and related ecological depressions are only the main titles of the effects of climate change.
So, how can we deal with climate change and the associated increasing economic costs in the architectural approach? Individually, structural designers and engineers think that they cannot affect climate change. However, if each designer individually created design principles based on climate change data with a large-scale vision, it would have taken a big step for our future.
As the pre-design vision to be put forward focuses on buildings that will be minimally affected by environmental impacts but will feed themselves with renewable and sustainable natural resources, the carbon emissions of the buildings will decrease, the intensity of environmental pollution will decrease and the costs in the construction phase will be reduced.
Explaining to the customer that the building is a more comfortable, healthier and sustainable energy cost construct in the explanation of the designs made in the context of climate change doctrines will also arouse satisfaction from the investor.
Unfortunately, today's green cladding or green certification, which is planned after the construction phase, not while the buildings are being constructed during the design phase, has enabled architectural populism.
There is now an indispensable truth in the architectural approach that; In all forms of my building designs, energy and resource efficiency must be paramount. We should build structures that have A1 class fireproof and insulated and impermeable facades, can generate energy with solar and wind panels, transmit their waste to the environment at a minimum level, completely filter carbon emissions with air conditioning and ventilation devices, and embrace the harmony in nature in the interaction of day and night.
Now architects must create an information sheet for the information modeling vision before the design phase. We can identify this information form with 6 main headings.
1. Obtaining pre-design climate regional climate change data.
2. Soil survey analysis and examination of the region's plant population.
3. Positions of engineers of different disciplines that will affect the structure in the design.
4. Climate and site positioning and material use that will affect the design style.
5. Emphasizing nature-friendly ideas in design principles and detail solutions.
6. Examination of carbon emissions of electrical and mechanical systems to be used in the building.
7. Creation of building system modeling
Of course, it is not enough to make environmentalist fictions on climate change only at the design stage. At the stage of completing the building on site, it is necessary to create awareness with teams working from investors to contractors, to ensure that energy is used efficiently and solutions are produced with details that will minimize carbon emissions.
For our future, we must design structures that embrace our future.
Ali DOKALAK
10.08.2021
