Given the recent interest in green buildings in the media, let's think differently. Instead of focusing on increasing the supply of energy, what if we focus on reducing demand?

    Can we start with ending the open-door practice of street-front shops? While cool air from these shops is refreshing to pedestrians, it carries a cost. Energy is used in the air conditioning process.

    So it must be possible to look for changes in regulations that would encourage more energy-saving designs. For instance, if we fix ceiling fans, air-conditioning homes could surely be avoided for part of the year. Ceiling fans use far less energy. They were in a year air conditioners could stay if ceiling fans were fixed.

    In homes built under the small-house policy in New Territories, the ceiling may be too low for ceiling fans. If the 9-meter maximum building height regulation were relaxed, ceiling fans could be fixed to reduce energy use. Current thinking in sustainable building design and operation involves integrated(协调统一的) design, that is, bring together all parties to create a building with better performance that achieves energy reduction.

    For integrated design to succeed, all parties must come together and think beyond each person's circle of influence. Better solutions are impossible to avoid with integrated design. Buildings would no longer be engineered after the basic architecture was built. Positive project outcomes may include reduced air-conditioning load, reduced power use for electric lighting, and a reduction in the amount of materials used.

    We need to ask if we are ready to look beyond our own small circles and seek an improved approach to building design. By that I mean an integrated design resulting in more sustainable buildings.