ABSTRACT
The recent dramatic fluctuations in energy prices and the unprecedented large-scale power outages that hit a number of North American and European cities have demonstrated with alarming effect the dependence of our technologically advanced society on a precious resource that many of us habitually take for granted. The geopolitical implications of this dependence are clear to see and worrisome to speculate about. Building construction, use and maintenance generally consume between one half and two-thirds of national energy production in the developed countries. These figures generate a huge responsibility for architects to assume if we are to consider that a large proportion of the energy we consume is non-renewable.
