What Makes a Building Green?
A green building incorporates design, construction, and maintenance practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of the building on occupants and the environment. (Integrated strategies that solve multiple problems are commonly used.) A green building places a high priority on health, environmental, and resource conservation performance over its life cycle. Green design emphasizes a number of environmental, resource, and occupant health concerns:- Reducing human exposure to toxic materials
- Conserving non-renewable energy and natural resources
- Minimizing life-cycle ecological impact of energy and materials used
- Using renewable energy and materials that are sustainably harvested and manufactured
- Protecting and restoring ecosystems: air, water, soils, flora, and fauna
- Supporting pedestrians, bicycles, mass transit, and other alternatives to fossil-fueled vehicles
Most green buildings are high-quality buildings; they last longer, cost less to operate and maintain, and provide greater occupant satisfaction than standard developments. Sophisticated buyers and lessors prefer them, and are often willing to pay a premium for their advantages. A great way to see what a green building looks like is to visit the Virtually Green Building Tour System, and take a virtual tour of several existing green buildings.
What surprises many people unfamiliar with the sustainable design movement is that green buildings can cost little or no more to construct and less to maintain than conventional designs. A commitment to better building performance, close teamwork throughout the design process, openness to new approaches, and information on how these are best applied are more important than a large construction budget.
The AIA supports the development and use of rating systems and standards that promote the design and construction of communities and buildings that contribute to a sustainable future. In order to increase the architect's ability to advocate for green buildings, in December 2005, the AIA released a Sustainable Rating Systems Position Statement. The position establishes general support for green building rating systems and identifies criteria that the Institute deems important for inclusion in any green rating program. A comparison of three major green building rating systems based on the AIA’s position statement is also available online.
Examples Of High Quality Sustainable Projects
The 2007 COTE Top Ten Green Projects program celebrates projects that are the result of a thoroughly integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology They make a positive contribution to their communities, improve comfort for building occupants, and reduce environmental impacts through strategies such as reuse of existing structures, connection to transit systems, low-impact and regenerative site development, energy and water conservation, use of sustainable or renewable construction materials, and design that improves indoor air quality.
Click here for project descriptions that highlight both design innovation and sustainable strategies, along with the metrics achieved in terms of reduced carbon emissions, reduced energy consumption and improved building functionality.
