The era of sustainability: Promises, pitfalls and prospects for sustainable buildings and the built environment

Following 25 years of efforts in the field, the author discusses the situation of the construction sector by reflecting on the 3Ps of the era of sustainability: the promises of sustainability; the pitfalls in the interpretation of sustainability for construction; the prospects for sustainable buildings and the built environment in the future. The paper is organized into five sections. The first section introduces the emergence of sustainable construction, its promises and challenges for architects and engineers. The second section considers how sustainability has been interpreted in practice in construction, i.e., primarily through the process of greening buildings and the built environment. The third section describes the main pitfalls that such interpretation has determined, including the role played by evaluation and assessment systems for sustainable buildings. The fourth section examines prospective paths to overcoming such pitfalls, with particular concerns for new professionalisms and the ensuing role for higher education. The fifth section concludes by supporting the idea that the era of sustainability is still necessary, if sustainability itself becomes a sort of 'container concept' of all that is necessary for long-lasting natural and human life on Earth.