Bermuda: How The Triangle Shaped Architecture
What is the current state of sustainability in residential architecture in Bermuda?
Corrie Cross | Coventry University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Architecture BSc (Hons)
Abstract
This dissertation qualitatively evaluates the factors involved in the sustainability of residential architecture in Bermuda. The aim of this dissertation is to get a clear understanding of all the themes associated to sustainability in Bermuda through interviews with stakeholders involved in the built environment in Bermuda. These stake holders include homeowners, architects, environmentalist, sustainability experts and historians. Through analysis of secondary data ranging from the department of planning’s residential building code to the regulatory authority of Bermuda’s integrated resources plan, initial understanding provokes assumptions which are formed and used to determine to the types of questions asked of the stakeholder. The responses from the interviews inform the existing information to reveal that the key factors encompassing sustainability in residential architecture in Bermuda are; heritage, energy, government regulation, resources, economics and education. The status of sustainability is undetermined as activity within these respective themes is constantly changing. Overall the government is recognising the need for more sustainable practices, but the progress is very slow. It is recommended that the government look to change their regulations to be less prescriptive in the specific technical requirements for buildings and move to establish a level of quality required for buildings. This will introduce design innovation that will ensure necessary building function and strength whilst inviting more innovative and sustainable design and change the current predicament where home owners and architects are relying on technology to appease poor building design in the pursuit of sustainability.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Sustainability is a very broad concept in architecture and can be evaluated in many ways. In Bermuda the architectural landscape is unique due to the countries climatic and geographical qualities. When discussing sustainability and sustainable design in Bermuda, it is necessary to understand what sustainability means in the context of Bermuda and to determine what areas of the built environment are being analysed. Residential architecture in Bermuda has many iconic traits and is a corner stone for Bermudian culture therefore the topic has many layers which need to be considered when critically analysing.
The aim of this paper is to analyse residential architecture in Bermuda and to determine the factors that are most relevant to establishing sustainability. Once those factors have been established the next aim will be to investigate those factors to understand the current status of sustainability in residential architecture. The hypothesis is that the current status of sustainability in residential architecture in Bermuda is low because there is hesitancy to evolve building and design practices, through legislation.
1.1 Bermuda
When mentioned Bermuda is always attributed to the mysterious part of the sea that’s responsible for ship and air plane disappearances. The 22 square mile island was discovered by the Spanish in 1503 but colonised by the British in 1609. The island is the product of an underwater volcano that erupted, leaving a landmass that now has an approximate 60,000-person population and 9 parishes. The landmass consists of a large limestone composite, but the island of Bermuda is a collection of one large island and many smaller surrounding islands. Surrounding the islands are coral reefs, a unique geographical feature. Since the island experiences many hurricanes and intense weather the reefs act as a natural barrier to some of the intensities of the storms. The tropical climate and warm weather are difficult aspects to deal with because Bermuda has no fresh water resources and all drinking water is gathered from rain water.
These unique climatic attributes are what drove the original architecture that influences the current local vernacular. The British settler took inspiration from what they knew aesthetically while trying to protect from the elements and use what they could to their advantage. Bermuda cedar wood was in high abundance at the time and that was used to build the structures for the first homes. As mentioned, limestone was readily available and quarried into building bricks for homes and as slate for the roofs. Pitched roofs were initially chosen as they were what was used in traditional British homes, this was later adapted to evolve the water catchment technology that is still used today in residential homes. The slope of the roof was designed to not only promote the flow of rain water into underground water tanks but also to be least effected by the strong winds of hurricanes and storms.
Figure 01. Example of historic residentialbuilding to show rain water catchment (Griffin 2019)
1.2 Sustainability
Jason McLennan writes about sustainability as a philosophy of design. McLennan writes ‘sustainable design is the philosophical basis of a growing movement of individuals and organizations that literally seeks to redefine how buildings are designed, built and operated to be more responsive to people.’ (McLennan 2004: 4) This dissertation will apply this definition of sustainability to Bermuda by identify themes that fall under the sphere of sustainability: natural environment, natural systems, resources, people and life cycles.
Bermuda being in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean causes the climate to be very salty and brutal therefore buildings must be able withstand constant erosion and high wind strength. In addition to this, Bermuda’s location also means that most materials and resources must be shipped in and that ultimately effects the life cycles of people on the island. The natural systems are those that relate to our resources and the most important one is rainfall being that Bermuda relies on rainfall catchment as a water supply. These are the characteristics designers must deal with when designing and are what will inform sustainable design.
Figure 03. Diagram to represent the factors involved in sustainability
Though these characteristics have been stated, a major part that effects any design decision is building code and is why governmental influence is a factor when discussing sustainability. Bermuda is a British overseas territory and is recognised by the UN as a non-self-governing territory. The UN states that ‘Bermuda has been on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories since 1946, following the transmission of information by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under Article 73 e of the Charter of the United Nations.’ (UN 2019) This means that Bermuda by association should be adopting the UN sustainability goals as the UK has, solidifying the motivation to investigate sustainability.
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Written by Corrie Cross
Born in Bermuda, Corrie came to the UK to study architecture. Her goal as an architect is to maintain the understanding and appreciation of architectural history in a way that integrates modern technologies and design. Her view point is that the solution to to our future problems can be found in our past. This dissertation looks at the residential architecture of Bermuda and how sustainability is being approached on a residential scale.