Prince Charles has criticised the exploitation of environmentally-friendly buildings.
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The royal, who branded modern architecture a “monstrous carbuncle” 25 years ago, has blasted the “paraphernalia” of the “green building industry”.
Charles is unhappy that so many new builds are using solar panels and wind turbines to counteract their wastefulness.
He told House and Garden magazine: “Why, I must ask, does being ‘green’ mean building with glass and steel and concrete and then adding wind turbines, solar panels, water heaters, glass atria – all the paraphernalia of a new green building industry – to offset buildings that are inefficient in the first place?
“That many of these add-ons are mere gestures, at best, is now clear, as their impacts on home energy consumption can now be measured and usually offer scant justification for the radical nature of the design.”
The 59-year-old prince has urged architects to revert back to tried-and-tested methods such as sounder foundations and solid walls when designing properties.
He added: “We must now act by using traditional methods and materials to work with nature rather than against her. We need to resist the urge to seize on slick, highly marketed techno-fixes.”