Our Mission and Design Principles

In recent years, FB Ecotecture and the architecture, engineering and construction industry as a whole, have used many different terms to describe practical design approaches.

Such terms can sometimes be confusing, so here we provide brief descriptions of basic principles on which all FB Ecotecture designs are founded:

BIOPHILIA: humankind’s innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life.
BIOMIMICRY: the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes.
CARBON BALANCING: the ability of a project to achieve net positive carbon emissions for both operational and embodied carbon due to the project sequestering more carbon than it emits over its life cycle.
DESIGN FOR DECONSTRUCTION: deconstructed at the end of its life in a way that allows for the re-use of certain building components, extending the life cycle of the building and, in turn, its long-term carbon sequestration.
LIVING BUILDING: regenerative buildings with net-zero or net-positive resource impacts that support health and well-being and connect occupants to light, air, nature, and community.
NET-ZERO ENERGY BUILDING: meet its own annual energy consumption requirements, thereby reducing the use of non-renewable energy in the building sector.
NET-ZERO EMISSIONS BUILDING: emissions-free renewable energy as it uses from emissions-producing energy sources.
REGENERATIVE DESIGN: continuous renewal of evolving socio-ecological systems.
RESTORATIVE DESIGN: design that reverses damage that has been caused to a particular site by either nature or humans.
RESILIENCY: the capacity to adapt to changing conditions and to maintain or regain functionality and vitality in the face of stress or disturbance.
(TRIPLE) NET-ZERO: a project that achieves net-zero energy, net-zero water and net-zero waste at the site level.

Further to the above, FB Ecotecture have always based their design on The Hannover Principles of Sustainability - a living document committed to the transformation and growth in the understanding of Humankind's interdependence with nature, so that they may adapt as our knowledge of the world evolves:

Insist on rights of humanity and nature to co-exist in a healthy, supportive, diverse and sustainable condition;
Recognize interdependence. The elements of human design interact with and depend upon the natural world, with broad and diverse implications at every scale. Expand design considerations to recognising even distant effects;
Respect relationships between spirit and matter. Consider all aspects of human settlement including community, dwelling, industry and trade in terms of existing and evolving connections between spiritual and material consciousness;
Accept responsibility for the consequences of design decisions upon human well-being, the viability of natural systems, and their right to co-exist;
Create safe objects of long-term value. Do not burden future generations with requirements for maintenance of vigilant administration of potential danger due to the careless creation of products, processes or standards;
Eliminate the concept of waste. Evaluate and optimize the full life-cycle of products and processes, to approach the state of natural systems, in which there is no waste;
Rely on natural energy flows. Human designs should, like the living world, derive their creative forces from perpetual solar income. Incorporate the energy efficiently and safely for responsible use;
Understand the limitations of design. No human creation lasts forever and design does not solve all problems. Those who create and plan should practice humility in the face of nature. Treat nature as a model and mentor, not an inconvenience to be evaded or controlled;
Seek constant improvement by the sharing of knowledge. Encourage direct and open communication between colleagues, patrons, manufacturers and users to link long-term sustainable considerations with ethical responsibility, and re-establish the integral relationship between natural processes and human activity.