Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

To be disseminated, Thermal Standards and Regulations have to be universal and neutral, but in the end they never are. In reality, as socially-constituted artifacts, they are always contextualized, depending on culture, practices, and means present in the place where they are applied (as well as of the ones where they were produced). It is the context, the actors that manipulate them modify their outcome. So, an Actor-Network-Theory framework shall help navigate the ins and outs of thermal standards. They are often transnational, reaching as many markets as possible. I also investigate local codes as both are not isolated and in fact mutually influence each other. Looking at the origin and development of particular standards or certification schemes questions their role in the creation and regulation of a thermal environment. This research ultimately confronts the various nuances or contradictions in the standards’ definitions with their subsequent effects on architecture and city climate(s). I focus on voluntary standards, such as LEED, questioning the legitimacy of label-based strategies on heating/cooling issues. Indeed, being promoted by global agencies, how are they coexisting with national strategies, enforced by elected government and local institutions? The US Green Building Council is heavily marketing the LEED scheme with view into being integrated in always more National codes. The resulting hybrid (a privately-owned label adapted into public ordinances) raises some concerns about the implication of local population into thermal environments’ governance. The local VS global divide seems more complex than ever in this coexistence.