Exergy landscapes: Exploration of second-law thinking towards sustainable landscape design

Depletion of fossil fuels and climate change necessitate a transition to sustainable energy systems that make efficient use of renewable energy sources. During recent decades, the Second Law of Thermodynamics has helped to increase energy efficiencies. More recently, the disciplines of building engineering, architecture and urban planning have begun embracing this ‘second-law thinking’ in order to reduce energy consumption in the built environment. Second-law thinking, however, is not yet a part of spatial planning and landscape design. This is especially problematic because the concepts of exergy and entropy are imperative to sustainable development. This paper explores the Laws of Thermodynamics and related concepts in order to advance the planning and design of sustainable landscapes. The discussion in this paper is based on ‘research by design’ – a research approach that includes literature and case-study research, as well as the design of several sustainable energy landscapes in the Netherlands. From our studies, we conclude that second-law thinking should be embraced in spatial planning and landscape design practice. To facilitate this integration, we propose a number of exergy-conscious design principles, each one supporting sustainable energy transition.